24 hours
by sesskag87
Summary: What are your fears? Journey into the Room of Requirement with Hermione and Draco.
1. Chapter 1

What do you fear most?

* * *

"You filthy little mudblood!"

Malfoy pulled off his tie in front of the bathroom mirror. The pretending was absolutely exhausting. He put his hand down slightly, the tears choking his throat. He saw her face in his minds eye, saw the tears well up in her eyes as he insulted her in front of their peers. He hated it..hated this..

But knew, in the end, it would be the only thing to save her.

He felt a slight twinge as his forearm alighted with pain. He grabbed it and pulled his sleeve up, the ugly mark was moving slightly, making his blood run cold. He absolutely hated the brand, he always scrubbed and scrubbed that area when he was in the shower, as if it would release him. It never would, and he would always end up breaking down..

Draco looked back into the mirror, and wiped his face off.

Pathetic.

He remembered when all this mess had started. It was months before staring into the same mirror..

* * *

Draco sobbed pitifully and brokenly. His fingers clutched frantically at his vest ripping it over his head. He felt the walls start to close in on him, suffocating, he almost clawed at his throat as he felt the air leave his windpipe.

He took deep breaths, steadying his heartbeat into a normal rhythm again. It didn't work, the only thing he could was sob pathetically into the sink. The plan with the necklace had gone completely wrong, it was not supposed to happen to Katie Bell. He had almost killed that girl.

He choked on another sob that rolled through him. And he knew that Potter, nosy ,intrusive, perfect Potter had caught onto him. In the Great Hall he saw his eyes clash with his own, seeing nothing but disdain dance in the other wizards, it ate at him, he knew what Draco was, what he had done.

Hermione grabbed Harry's arm, trying vainly to pull him down onto the bench again. He was rigid as stone, his eyes staring ahead still, contemplating whether to go after Malfoy.

"Harry, stop it." She told him, trying to distract him.

"I want to go after him Hermione."

She looked at the door, and then to him. "Yes but you will pick a fight with him Harry, and we don't need that right now."

"We? Hermione, he poisoned Katie!" He all but yelled at her.

She glared at him, "We don't know that!"

"Then you're absolutely delusional!"

Hermione almost gasped, but didn't have time before Harry was trying to weave out of the Great Hall. She swung her feet around and went after him, her blood boiling.

She grabbed his sleave as soon as he reached the exit, and spun him around. "You're acting absolutely foolish Harry Potter! What are you going to do, go in there wherever he is and demand answers?"

"I'm going to talk to him."

Hermione sighed and let go of him, "I understand you want answers, but if you go now, you'll do nothing but fight with him."

He glared at her, but didn't move to continue pursuing Draco, instead he stormed past her and plopped back at the Gryffindor table. Hermione watched him and sighed, why was the voice of reason always the one who had to suffer? How aggravating.

No longer hungry, she left the Great Hall and decided a nice trip to the library would clear her mind. The corridors were clear now, leaving her to mull over what just happened. What if Draco had really poisoned Katie? The thought sent icy trails down her spine, she never figured he would be capable of such a horrid action.

She wrapped her arms around herself, her thoughts keeping her company, when suddenly she heard a sobbing coming from around the corner. She stopped and slid a long the stone wall until she came upon a boys lavatory. She listened for a split moment, pondering who it was. She had a hunch..

'You're a Gryffindor you ninny, where's your courage?'

Hermione poked her head around the corner and saw the platinum hair. The sight made her stop for a moment, her feet no longer moving forward. She knew this confrontation could end many ways, most of them badly, OR it could end in a relatively positive way and she could maybe console Malfoy and get the truth from him.

Her decision was made and she pushed onward.

Draco was too engrossed in his emotions to notice the petite girl slip in. His shoulders shook as he lost control of his mask that set upon his features so finely.

"M-Malfoy?" She squeaked.

He stopped suddenly, the remaining tear slipping out. He whipped around to see the stupid mudblood staring at him in that pitiful way.

"Get out of here Granger!" He barked at her, trying to put himself back together again.

"I don't think so." She said, this time with a little more conviction.

"You followed me. No doubt for Potter." He spat his name with venom, almost making Hermione wince.

"No. I came on my own. What's wrong Malfoy?"

He watched as pity swam in her eyes, her features were softened, and the sight made him slightly ill. He never asked for her damn pity, and he didn't want it.

"I won't tell you again to leave before I force you." He threatened her, taking a step forward.

Hermione saw a wild look about him, and it didn't help that his outfit had been pulled apart in some areas, his hair was no longer properly groomed, it stood on end, some of it falling in his grey eyes. He looked dark and menacing, making her defensive, her hand instintively going to her wand.

Malfoy was faster though as he raised his and yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

Hermione moved at the last second, and fell onto the floor.

She looked up at him, wide-eyed, stunned that he had tried to disarm her. Little pricks of tears sprang up, but she pushed them back. Angrily, she raised her own wand, "Stupefy!"

The curse hit Draco, but only knocked him down, Hermione climbed up and stared at him menacingly.

He got up, "Petrificus Totalus!"

"Protego!"

He stared at her, his mind racing. He suddenly dashed out of the lavatory and starting sprinting down the corridor. Hermione ran after him, her wand out and ready.

His legs were long, and he was fast, but Hermione could not help the blood that rushed through her body and gave her adrenaline. The anger coursed through her in waves, she'd teach him for sure...

Suddenly, Draco turned a corner and a door appeared in the wall before him. He darted to the handle and pulled it open, swinging it shut behind him. Hermione clutched the door and flung it open, following him in. There was no floor, and it suddenly felt as if she was falling. She screamed when she only felt air, and was plunged down...down...down until the cold ground met her.

The air rushed from her lungs in a nasty woosh, knocking her senses every which way. She touched her side, desperately feeling if she had broken any ribs, they might have been bruised but they were not broke.

The darkness met her eyes, it was pitch black, she rolled onto her knees and fished for her wand, she raised it up, "Lumos."

It lit the room up, and she suddenly saw Malfoy laying not too far away from her. She glared at his prone figure and opted to leave his sorry behind there. But, she wouldn't sink to his level and knelt down beside him. The fall had obviously knocked him unconscious. She gingerly felt his wrist, and found a steady pulse. He would be fine, but she would not be anywhere near him when he woke. She turned her light looking for a door, there was none.

Hermione knew where they were. They were in the Room of Requirement. She had been in here before, and it had never flung her down into a black hole like it had done. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something very wrong..

A few more minutes of investigation, she had given up on finding the way out and stepped into the blackness of the rest of the room. There were piles of lost items everywhere, clocks, cameras, she even saw a small cage of birds. What an odd thing to lose?

She suddenly heard something to her left? She spun in the opposite direction, it sounded like a growl? Malfoy? Maybe he was trying to play a stupid prank on her. She marched forward, ready to end this silly duel of theirs once and for all.

The sound got a little bit louder this time. It sounded almost like an animal?

Something was in here and it sent a cold chill down the center of her spine.

She hastily walked back over to Malfoy, he was stirring slightly, she nudged his shoulder. He growled at her and pushed himself away, moving so he could get off the floor.

"Oh that's bloody perfect Granger, you followed me in here." He winced as he climbed off the floor.

"To right I did, you attacked me!"

He grimaced, "I thought you were in there to harass me. I was only trying to disarm you encase you got a little to friendly with that wand of yours."

Hermione had forgotten about the sound in the room and sucked in a breath, preparing herself for the slew of hateful words that were about to tumble out of her mouth.

"Idiot. I went in there to make sure you were alright!"

Draco heard something, blocking out the words of the woman beside him.

"Shut up." He said to her.

Hermione drew back, affronted, "I most certainly will not. I am not do-."

He turned to her, his grey eyes steely, telling her with his expression to shut her mouth.

"There's something in here."

Hermione suddenly remembered why she had walked back over here with him.

"We need to get out of here Granger."

"There isn't a door, I've checked every wall. You know where we are right?"

Draco nodded, and lit his own wand.

Hermione heard the sound, closer this time.

Draco was looking at the wall, feeling it with his hands, why had the door disappeared?

Hermione could suddenly make out something in the distance. She raised her wand higher, squinting her eyes. She saw the outline, and almost shrieked. She grabbed Draco's sleeve, her hands trembling.

He snatched his arm away. "Don't touch me mud-."

She grabbed his forearm then and started to pull him away.

"What is it?!" He yelled as she dragged him.

"W-Werewolf!" Granger screamed, her grip on his arm getting tighter. Draco turned and pulled his wand up, his feet gaining momentum, he saw the creature, its fangs protruding from his mouth, drool dripping down them.

"Bleeding Christ!" He yelled.

Hermione dodged and ducked among the piles of objects that littered the floor. Her chest was beginning to burn, she heard the pants of Draco beside her. "I don't know where to go!" She screamed at him, jumping over a suitcase that was in her path. She stumbled and almost lost her footing when a hand reached out and grabbed her forearm, his nails bit into her skin and she screamed, hearing the roars behind them.

Draco suddenly saw a broom ahead of them. He tossed Hermione forward and picked up the end of it. Turning, he sent a spell at the animal, "Stupefy!"

He heard a yelp and then a crash. He stopped and grabbed the end of the broom, throwing it between his thighs, "Get on Granger!"

Hermione wasted no time, and hopped on. She kept her wand raised so they could see.

Draco whizzed off, narrowly missing the top of a junk pile. Hermione screamed, and shut her eyes tightly. Her hands were gripping the wood of the broom so ferociously she knew she'd have a splinter. They were in a giant room, she didn't know where Malfoy had planned to go..

There was suddenly, a clock chiming in the distance. Suddenly, light filled the room and Hermione put her wand down, then suddenly it became brighter and brighter, until she had to shield her eyes. Draco could see only slightly, and he could see the wall of the end of the room getting closer. He moved his hand to pull the broom up but it wouldn't budge. Hermione moved her hand away from her eyes and saw the wall too.

"Malfoy what are you doing!" She yelled back at him.

He kept trying to move them out of the path of the wall. The collision would be brutal if he didn't.

Hermione gasped as the broom picked up speed.

"Malfoy!" She screamed again.

"MALFOY!"

"Draco!" She yelled, right before they hit the wall.

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, waiting on the impact to crush her, but she felt nothing, nothing but air hit her skin as she looked down to find nothing beneath her. She yelled and clung onto her wand, they were falling once again to the ground. Hermione screamed, clawing desperately at the air. Draco moved his hand to grab her arm, when they were flung into a force field before hitting the floor.

* * *

Tell me how you like it so far. More chapters to come, almost done with chapter two.


	2. Athazagoraphobia

She fell into the pit of despair for a few nights after he had called her that foul name. What if her friends could finally see what she was...A person that didn't belong there, she wasn't witch enough to be there. Maybe if they just forgot her..

Forgot she had ever existed.

She had shot out of bed and cried.

* * *

Hermione came to a couple minutes later to a voice in her ear. She moved her head and groaned, whimpering at the pain that shot itself up her side. Malfoy shook her shoulder, trying to wake her up. He rolled his eyes at her groaning and moved her.

"Get up Granger, we cannot stay here."

A little chirp of a bird got her to raise her head up. Where were they?

She moved her legs to get herself off the grass that laid out before her. She looked up to see Hogwarts castle, had they gotten out?!

Prying herself off the ground, she felt the twinge in her side again. Draco rolled his eyes at her, seeing the light in her eyes, she must have thought that they had escaped the Room of Requirement.

"Why are we here?" She whispered, moving her fingers gently over the sore skin.

"The moon." He remarked snidely.

Hermione rolled her eyes, gruffly mumbling an insult under her breath.

"What is going on? Why is the room being strange?"

Draco huffed again, "If I knew that Granger, do you think I wouldn't have tried to do something about it?"

"I don't think your brain could functionally wrap itself around a problem such as this." She snapped at him.

He growled and fumbled for his wand, wanting to shut her up. He stuffed his hand into the pocket he had put it in, it was not in there. Panicking a little bit, he started to look on the ground, maybe it had dropped?

Hermione watched as he looked around for his wand, idiot, he didn't think to hold onto it? She smirked and went to untuck her own from her waistband of her skirt. It was not there. She shrieked and started to panic. She remembered distinctively putting it there!

She dropped to the ground, moving grass and weeds out of the way. Draco sneered and felt a trickle of satisfaction wash over him.

Hermione started to sob, stopping her search.

Malfoy sat on his butt and stared at her, "What the hell is your problem?" he asked her gruffly.

"M-My wand is gone. My mother bought me that wand!"

"Yes well, my mother bought mine as well and you don't see me crying about it do you?"

Hermione ripped at the grass and threw some blades at him, "Yes well, your parents can buy you anything you petty little ferret!"

Before he could retaliate, voices caught their attention. Hermione ran behind a tree, beckoning Draco to follow her.

The laughter was getting closer to them, and Hermione suddenly saw a red head coming over the hill. And then Harry. She gasped and left her hiding spot, dashing to her closest friends. Her arms were open and tears were dangerously close to falling. "Harry, Ron!"

A little yell behind her went completely unnoticed. She wrapped her two friends in a tight hug, "Oh god, I've spend the last hour stuck in the room of requirement with Malfoy, it was absolutely horrid! We were chased by a werewolf and I think I've done something to one of my ribs! Were you worried?"

She managed to shut up and look up at her best friends, who were looking down at her with horrified expressions, almost as if they didn't recognize her. What was their problem?

"What?" She demanded, why hadn't they said anything?

"Who are you?" Harry said, his hand going for his wand. Hermione gasped and stepped back. Ron was glaring at her, his own hand going to his wand, Hermione was extremely confused. Didn't her closest friends in the whole world recognize her? Suddenly, a hand clamped down on her upper arm. Draco whirled her around, his face contorted in anger. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you stupid little bint."

Hermione was trying to shake him lose, but her confusion took over her sense. Ron and Harry were still staring at the two.

"Oy Malfoy, your girlfriend there is completely nutters!" Ron yelled after them.

Draco continued to march them back to the trees, he pulled her through, ignoring her sobs.

Hermione managed to pull her composure together and wiggled herself free. "L-Let go, you heartless arse."

Malfoy dropped her arm as if it were poison, wiping his hands on his pants.

"Do you feel better?" He asked her harshly, "We are not back at Hogwarts Granger, I would think with your sense you would have known that. Why would it take us outside the grounds of the school if we were out?"

She shook her head, the scene between her and the boys still clear in her minds eye.

"W-Why didn't they at least recognize me?" She asked him, not expecting an answer.

"Granger, what were you thinking about before you came into the room?"

Hermione didn't understand the question, what did he mean?

"Jesus, I mean what was going through your head as you chased me in here? Fear?"

She shook her head, "I am not afraid of you!"

"I never said you were, you stupid little..." He stopped, pulling his own self together, fighting would get them nowhere.

She looked down, "I was afraid of what could have happened in the bathroom, how we could have seriously harmed each other." She bit her lip, waiting on the insults to be thrown at her.

Draco didn't say anything, just turned and continued walking. She followed him, "Why did you ask what I was thinking of?"

"You've read Hogwarts: A History about a million times now I take it?" He asked her, Hermione rolled her eyes, but nodded.

"The room is praying on our fear."

"Fear? I understand how it would be praying on my fear, but why are you here with me? Is it only praying on my fear? What were you thinking of when you ran in here?"

He didn't answer her, just continued to walk.

She grabbed his sleeve, halting him. "Get your filthy hands off of me!"

"Not until you tell me what you were thinking."

"I will do no such thing, now let go."

They stood in silence for a second before Hermione finally removed her hand from his person. She glared at him and swiftly turned around. He watched her make her way back towards the castle, "Hey, where are you going?"

She didn't answer, just continued to walk.

Damn girl.

Let her do whatever she wanted to do, he would not follow her anymore.

* * *

Hermione walked through the doors that led into the castle, she refused to believe that nothing could be done, I mean what were they supposed to do? Just wait in the woods? Sometimes Malfoy was so dense.

She wound herself through a crowd of students, who looked at her like she was some kind of alien. What was going on?

She finally came to Professor McGonagalls door and knocked. The older witch opened it and stared at Hermione, "May I help you young lady?"

The younger witch didn't know what to say at first, "P-Professor, you don't recognize me either?"

The witch shook her head, raising an eyebrow at the teenager.

Hermione felt the walls start to close in on her, she backed up, turned and ran. She heard the woman yell at her to stop and wait,but she couldn't, she was so confused, first her best friends, then her favorite teacher and head of house.

She continued to run when suddenly, a chiming clock caught her attention, she stopped beside it, trying to remember why it was significant.

Yes! The clock in the room of requirement, as soon as it struck an hour it had flung them into another room? Or scenario? Hermione looked down at the watch on her wrist, it was now 5:35, so that meant when it struck 6, they would be somewhere else.

The statement that Draco said about fear struck her. Oh god..

Hermione looked behind her and saw a swish of black robes catch her eye, was it McGonagall? The figure became more prominent, and she realized it was Professor Snape!

Oh no.

Hermione looked around, trying to find a hiding place, this could turn very badly very quickly. As she ducked and moved around the hall, the pictures were talking loudly about the intruder in the corridor. Hermione covered her ears as she began to lose faith in getting away from the man.

A little alcove caught her attention and she flung herself into the space, hunching into a ball, she shut her eyes and started to count as she waited for the dark figure to walk away from her. Her heart was beating ferociously, making her wonder if it would beat out of her chest.

He stopped walking, looking around, he looked thoughtful but continued to walk. Hermione caught her breath as he disappeared. She shut her eyes, and thanked Merlin that he had not found her out. The steady movement of staircases and footsteps lulled her into a sleep, she suddenly woke when voices caught her attention again. Two male voices.

It was Grabbe and Goyle.

They were staring at her.

Oh no...

Draco had snuck into the castle, looking around for the idiot woman. Why were females so thick headed?

Why was it that everyone recognized him and not Granger? What exactly was this fear?

Hermione tried to fight her way away from the lugs that were pulling her out of the alcove. They laughed as they pulled her so hard, she was sure they pulled her arm out of its socket. Whimpering, she cried out as they flung her onto the ground.

"Look a little lost Gryffindor Crabbe, think she needs help?"

Crabbe sneered in a hateful way, raking her form with his eyes. She did not like that look he had, it made her blood run cold.

He reached down and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her up again, shoving her against the opposite wall.

Draco was getting frustrated, where had the girl gone? A cluster of sounds at the end of the hall caught his attention as he directed his footing there.

Hermione felt pain radiate threw her jaw as Goyle struck her. She tried to crawl away from them as they reached back down to grab her. Crabbe got hold of her ankle and pulled her back, and he flipped her over.

Crawling on top of her, his hands fiddled with her skirt. She screamed this time, hitting him with all her strength.

Malfoy knew that scream, his pace quickened and he turned the corner to find his two friends ripping at her dressing. His eyes widened and he grabbed Crabbe, flinging him off of Granger. She shook, but managed to pull herself up.  
"Malfoy, what th-."

Goyle was smashed across his nose as the words tumbled from his mouth. Malfoy stepped on the fingers of Crabbe, hearing a crunch as he broke one. Hermione watched them as tears ran down her face. She was trying to pull her skirt together, trying to find a shred of modesty. Draco kicked Crabbe in his ribs, causing a loud grunt. He turned and grabbed Granger's hand, steering her down the hallway. He heard Goyle run after them, firing hexes and curses.

"Crucio!"

Draco narrowly dodged it as they raced a long. Hermione yelped as a picture was flung off the wall, wooden splinters flying everywhere.

Draco felt a stunning hex hit his shoulder, good thing he didn't have his wand. His bicep tingled as the curse settled into his blood, making his quiver.

Hermione suddenly heard the clock chime in her ear. "Malfoy the clock!"

He didn't have time to contemplate what the hell she was talking about before the ground fell away beneath them and they were falling once again into oblivion.

* * *

Please tell me how you like it so far.


	3. Atelophobia

This chapter is a little shorter, I'm still trying to feel this story out, it is very different from my other one's. The thought popped into my head, and i decided to run with it. Now, to see if it all can fit together.

Disclaimer: Of course none of this belongs to me. We all know this.

 ** _He couldn't tell you if the words or actions was killing him or making him stronger.._**

 ** _Maybe one day, if he didn't break under the pressure, or the strain of being perfect, he could tell you.._**

* * *

Hermione knelt beside a whimpering Draco and touched his shoulder gingerly. "Where does it hurt Malfoy?" Her fingers traced his bicep, moving the muscle.

"Bloody fucking hell Granger, don't _touch_ it!"

"Watch your language Malfoy." She scolded him, moving her hand again. He grit his teeth at the pain that seared into his joint.

"The hex he fired at you, it isn't what has caused the pain. The force of it hitting you has. It knocked your joint out of socket Malfoy, the only way to fix it is to put it back in place."

"You will not be the one doing it for me Granger."

She rolled her eyes, and moved his arm in the air. "Just grit your teeth and it will be over in just a second. Promise."

He covered his eyes and clenched his fist.

Hermione moved the arm to where it should originally be and pushed with all her strength and then moving the arm in a circle, she heard a firm pop and a bellow from the man beside her. She would never say it, but it gave her a little satisfaction.

"Bleeding hell." He whimpered.

Hermione continued to move his arm around, "Does that feel better?"

He stopped whining and nodded his head. She ran her fingertips over his bicep and gently laid it on the ground.

"I just wanted to say thank you for helping me with Crabbe and Goyle, without you they..." She stopped talking, starting to choke up with emotion.

"Don't worry about it." He gruffly answered.

They sat on the ground together, saying nothing to each other. "I think I know what's going on Malfoy."

"Enlighten me."

"When I came into the room of requirement, I was thinking of fear. And whatever you were thinking of, it has drug you with me. It's skipping around to what our fears are. The first two were mine, and now it's skipped to yours."

Draco sat in thought, it did make sense. The Room of Requirement was extremely complicated and anything could throw it off. He would never tell her though that she was probably right.

"Malfoy, did you hear a clock chime before we came here?"

He thought back to their previous encounter, and remembered a slight sound.

"Yes."

Hermione looked down at her watch, it was now 6:10, "So what happens is that we are in scenarios for one hour each. At the end of the hour, it changes. And in doing so, the clock chimes."

"So, what are you saying? How do we get out of here?"

Hermione chewed on her bottom lip, "The only thing we can do is just make it through the scenarios, we have found out that whatever happens in them really does happen to us."

The revelation made Hermione's blood run cold, now that they didn't have their wands, what were they going to do? What if one of them got seriously injured? Or worse?

Draco climbed off his feet and rolled his arm, it felt remarkably better. Looking down at her he mumbled, "Thanks."

Hermione and Malfoy walked around what looked like a house for a couple of minutes. "Does this house look familiar to you Malfoy?"

He thought back, it did look slightly familiar, but from where? Suddenly, it hit him. This was a little cabin that he and his family had went to years before. He looked over his shoulder at the mountains that loomed in the distance, how he loved to watched the sun set over them.

Hermione shivered and watched as little flurries began to fall. Neither one of them were properly dressed for snow. Her fingers curled around the handle of the door, but he stopped her.

"Are you bloody mad? My father is in there. And if you haven't noticed Granger, he doesn't take to kindly to you and your friends. Especially you mud-blood."

The word hit her heart but she pushed it down.

"Well, we can't stay out here and freeze, and if you haven't noticed we don't have our wands, so what do you propose we do?"

Draco looked in the window and saw figures glide across the kitchen. He stopped when he saw a little version of himself sitting sadly at the table. Pulling her down so they wouldn't be seen, he heard her exhale in frustration.

"This is a memory Granger."

"How do you know that?"

Draco clenched his fingers into his palms, remembering exactly what had happened here.

"We need to leave here." He said to her, turning away from the window.

"And go where?" She asked him, lightly touching his arm.

"I don't know! I just don't want to be here!"

Hermione was confused, he had seen her almost raped, by his best friends no less, what was he hiding?

"Listen, we both know we cannot leave here until the hour is over and if we don't get indoors soon, we will get hypothermia."

Draco didn't want to agree with her, he would have rather gotten hypothermia, but he didn't want to prove to the stupid chit that she was right.

"I know a way in. There's one in the basement."

Hermione was shocked at how mugglish this house seemed to be to her, she couldn't imagine why the Malfoy family had chosen to stay here of all places? The two of them saw the window in the wall, and pushed it open.

"How are we going to fit in there? It's rather small."

Draco watched as Granger struggled to fit through the little entrance, but managed, he heard a scuttle and then silence. He followed after her, the little window hitting him in the head, he fell the rest of the way through. He landed gracelessly, his foot hitting Grangers leg.

"Ow. Clumsy oaf." She said to him, grabbing the hurt appendage in her hand.

"Be quiet woman, do you want my father to come down here?If he does you might as well kiss-"

A noise caught his attention and he shifted forward, covering her mouth and forcing her back against his chest.

Hermione's heart was racing, the noise stopped suddenly, and Draco released her.

Hermione didn't know why he was so quick to grab her. He should have been more concerned with himself..

The minutes rolled by, they felt like hours to Hermione. It was awkward to just sit in silence with the ferret. She felt like they had so much to say to each other.

Draco started to nod off when yelling caught his attention, he knew that voice, it was his fathers. He sat back, his fingers going to his ears. Hermione heard him as well, straining her ears to listen. Draco had his eyes closed, no help there.

She moved closer to the door, pressing her ear against the wood. She heard a little boy crying, peering through the crack she saw a little Draco, his father raising his cane, cracking the boy over the backside with it. She almost shrank back, never having seen that before. She looked over at the teenage Draco in the basement with her, still closing his eyes.

"I told you I would make you regret it if you disobeyed me!" He yelled at the smaller Malfoy. The younger Draco just nodded his head and mumbled a broken, "Yes father."

Lucius was not done with him yet.

"Sit in that chair over there boy."

He obeyed.

"You know I only do this to get you prepared for your future."

Hermione had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. She watched as the young boy held his hands out, his face almost dead.

Lucius Malfoy raised the cane and hit his fingers, Hermione shrank back, she wanted to do something, but knew there was nothing she could do. Little whimpers of pain could be heard through the cracks, she grabbed the wood and felt her own tears prick her eyes.

Suddenly, a hand clamped on her wrist, and she turned to a pair of furious grey eyes.

"Did you enjoy the show you filthy little mud-blood." He whispered darkly at her, his fingers digging in painfully.

He brutally yanked her up, closer to the window and flung her towards it, she ricocheted off the wall and fell painfully to her knees. She felt the anger roll of his person in waves, embarrassment flashed across his features and a hint of...sadness.

"M-Malfoy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry.."

"Of course you did you little bitch, you and your friends do nothing but pry, that's why you followed me into the bathroom. Trying to catch your own little show, and you call me _sick_?"

Hermione glared at him and turned her back, she was not going to fight with him, it's what he wanted.

He growled and spun her around, making her face him, and shook her, feeling his anger spread through him.

Granger pushed against him, whispering for him to stop.

"Malfoy, I only wanted to know what the noise was outside the door. I s-swear.."

He stopped what he was doing, letting her go.

She rubbed her injured shoulder and watched as he sat down, the demons dancing across his features. Sitting down away from him, she sighed.

* * *

Hermione looked down at her watch again, 6:45. Fifteen minutes here, too long. She closed her eyes, but she could not get the image of a younger Malfoy getting beaten by his father out of her mind.

Draco sensed the pity roll off her in waves again, he absolutely hated it. He knew what she had seen, he remembered it all too well, his father had succeeded in dislocating two of his fingers that night and bruising the rest, he was lucky to not have a few blood vessels break. It was embarrassing to have her see it, it was a weakness that had never told anybody about.

He shut his eyes and laid his head back against the stone. The house had gone quiet, the lights had gone off.

Draco cleared his throat, "We were on vacation in the mountains of Scafell Pike, a secluded area. Mother thought it would be good for me and father. Well,I went out and watched the sun set, he didn't want me to do that, but I went anyway. He said watching sunsets was for women. Idiot.."

The way he mumbled it, in almost a broken way, made Hermione's heart lurch.

Hermione looked at him through the darkness, "You were so young Draco, you did not deserve that, you did nothing wrong.."

Draco looked at her, seeing her brown eyes. They were soft, almost doe like.

His heart tightened and he looked away. Hermione should have been angry with him, but her compassion won through. Feeling her way through the darkness, her fingers found his. Malfoy almost drew back from her, but stopped when she squeezed his hand.

In the distance, a clock chimed as they looked at each other..

The darkness they fell into was almost a blessing, Draco was struggling with the thoughts that clamored around his mind. His father had told him once before that mud-bloods and muggles have cold fingers, and their skin was scaly, like a snakes. But, the only thing he felt of Granger's fingers is that they were soft and blissfully warm.

Had his father purposely lied to him?

* * *

Tell me what you think?


	4. Alethephobia

**_Images flitted through his mind. Images of death, of murder. He had been told on multiple occasions that this was his destiny, his only path in life._**

 ** _His heart had twisted at his death sentence.. of course he had no choice.._**

 ** _Never had any choice.._**

* * *

Hermione sat on the ground with Draco, they looked around the room they were now in. It looked like a common room, the lights were down, signaling it was fairly late at night. The fire was flickering, eliminating the threshold. Hermione saw the green and silver colors, the dungeon was fairly cold and she wrapped her arms around herself.

Draco went around the couch and waved his hand in front of the other Draco's face. He did not budge. Draco knew what memory this was, it had happened not too long ago. He looked down at the book that was propped up in his lap. Granger would not take to kindly to what he was reading, so he shut it.

Hermione was confused as to why the other Draco could not see them. It was as if time stood still. The fire felt absolutely amazing and she warmed her hands over it. She sat down, relishing in the heat of the room. She would never admit it, but the room had a homey feel.

"Why can't he see you?" She asked Malfoy.

He plopped down on the couch, enjoying the heat as well.

"I'm not sure. I don't care, as long as that fire is still here."

She sighed and nodded, stretching out.

Hermione looked down at her watch, it was 7:15, Forty five minutes before they visited another scenario, this was all very confusing and intense for her. She never thought that she would be going through this, especially with someone like Malfoy.

They were both quiet for a while, Draco broke the silence.

"Why couldn't anybody see you in our first trip?"

Hermione looked at the flames of the fire again, not really sure she wanted to answer that question.

"When I came to Hogwarts, I knew I was different, being a witch of non-magic parents, it was all very unusual. I knew I would get judged for it.." She looked at him then, her brown eyes sad. "The doubt was crushing, the fear was unsettling, everyday, I was so afraid."

She smiled back at her first year. That was when she met Harry and Ron.

"The fear ebbed, but it never went away. After my first year was done, it went away for the most part, but then, a-after some events that happened in my second year, I just knew that no-one would look at me like I was worth anything."

She remembered when Malfoy had called her that terrible word, it was wrapped in so much hate, she wasn't sure if she'd ever stop crying.

"I just knew, all the friends I had made, everyone who had come to know me would see me for what I was. A-A filthy little mudblood."

Draco was shocked at what she had said. It made him uncomfortable and the guilt for what he had done to her was overwhelming.

Hermione wiped her face, rubbing the tears away. "I was just so afraid that everyone would forget about me, so I made it a point to prove that I was important, intelligent, bright, formidable in my studies. Something they couldn't take from me, if they took anything else."

Draco looked at her again, such sound words, such brave words. A true Gryffindor, he sneered but let that fact go. It was his turn to give her a little bit of comfort, even though it made him feel slightly odd.

He moved beside her, his hand reached out, he captured a small curl and pulled it between his fingers. Hermione watched with a blush stained across her cheeks, she knew he knew what she was talking about. It was all about their little confrontation in second year. But the way he was looking at her now, she couldn't understand. His fingers pulled at her little curl, his eyes never leaving hers, his grey eyes caught the fire beautifully.

Hermione looked away, afraid of what this little scene could turn into. She tucked her hair behind her ear and stood up.

She had sat on the couch, trying to get a little bit of sleep, her eyes closed, desperately trying to find the heaviness of slumber. It was not coming easily..

Suddenly a thought reached her, she was beside the frozen Draco, her hand reached out and checked his pockets for his wand. If they had one wand, it would help with their little journey a lot more.

Draco was asleep across from her. She quietly fiddled in his pockets when she accidentally hit the book that was in his lap. She mumbled a slight curse word, hoping she hadn't woken him up. She stopped for a moment, seeing the title of the book. W-What?

It was simple. The title was named Curses and Poisons. Why in the world would Malfoy have a book of that nature? She looked up to the sleeping man across from her, wanting to ask him, but knowing this was not the time.

She looked away after some time, and continued to look for his wand, not able to find it, she turned back to the dwindling fire, questions buzzing around her mind. Had Harry been right, had Draco really cursed Katie Bell? That would make him a murderer if he had succeeded. Bile rose in her throat as she pushed the thought back into the darkness of her mind.

She looked down at her watch again, it was almost time. Hermione stood up and walked to Draco, she looked down at his peaceful face. A chime hit her ears and she looked up, she felt the invisible force take her and sweep her away. The air whipped at her face as she collided into the hard ground again, she wondered what little dream she was in now.

* * *

Running water caught her attention, she pulled herself up and saw that she was in the same bathroom that she had found Draco in. She looked around, expecting to see Draco climb off the floor beside her, but he wasn't there.

Hermione was confused, she checked the stalls, looked down the corridor, maybe he had gotten up before she had come to?

He wasn't there.

Something was wrong.

She turned back towards the running water and suddenly heard someone walking down the corridor, coming closer. Hermione dashed into a stall, stepping on the toilet so her feet wouldn't show.

She looked over the top and saw the Silver hair of Malfoy. There he was! She stepped off the toilet and opened the door. She made her way to him, she looked into the mirror in front of him, he had no reflection. It struck fear in her..

It took a second for her to finally understand that she was in another memory. His memory, she knew that it was her own fear. But why didn't the real Malfoy come with her?

Her question answered itself when Malfoy pulled a necklace from his pocket. Hermione felt like she was going to faint. He maneuvered the necklace in front of him, not touching it. Hermione could feel the dark magic radiate off of it herself. Tears built up in her eyes, she felt so stupid! How could she even think that there was anything decent in that that...

Malfoys face looked terrible, he had purplish bags under his eyes and his skin looked almost sallow. She didn't care, didn't care about his well-being, didn't care about him!

She wiped the tears furiously and went around to the man who was still studying the necklace.

"You stupid idiot! You murderous piece of rubbish!"

She couldn't watch anymore, she sat in the corner of the bathroom, praying for this nightmare to end. She just wanted it all to go away. She rocked back and forth and thought of her friends, and her family. Were they all wondering where she was, how long had she been missing?

How could he do that? Why had he tried to kill an innocent girl that he didn't even know? She felt so stupid, stupid, stupid! She was foolish enough to believe that there was hope for him. That maybe maybe, she could see a decent person that laid behind that ignorant, rude shield he always put up.

Hermione just shook her head.

She glanced down at her watch, the hour was close to being up.

With tears still close to falling she looked up, "I get it! Is this what you were trying to show me? Trying to get me to not be so naive? P-Please, I get it now! Please.."

Suddenly, the clock chimed and darkness fell over her again, making her feel even more lost.

She opened her eyes to realize she was back in the Slytherin common room. A pair of grey eyes were staring intently at her, she drew her mouth in a thin line and almost lept off the couch.

"That was bloo-"

A vicious slap sent his senses reeling, his head whipping to the side. She didn't stop there as he felt her fists start to beat on his shoulders. He stood up and gripped her arms, pushing her back into the cushions.

"You murderer! You liar! I hate you! Hate you!"

Draco was confused, he held her as she continued to fight.

"Katie Bell! I saw y-you!"

He understood finally, the last hour had taken her to one of his memories, to finally expose her to the truth. He sighed internally, continuing to catch her fists.

Hermione moved to hit him again, but he was faster.

"You think I had a choice! That I ever had a choice!" He yelled at her, flinging her away from him.

She sobbed and sat back against the sofa.

"You think that because you and your imbecile friends make all the right decisions without having to think about it that we all have that luxury!?"

Hermione put her head down, no longer having the strength to look at him.

"Look at me!" He brutally forced her chin up, brown locking with silver.

"Granger, things are never black or white! We all must do things that we have to in order to survive.."

She let the words sink in, but could not help the hatred that ran through her veins.

He let go of her, backing away. He should have known, should have figured that the magic would send her to that particular memory. He closed his eyes and tried to slow his heart beat down.

No more words were said, and when the clock chimed, Draco filled with dread as he slipped into the abyss. He didn't want Granger to see anymore..

Hermione got up and started to walk away from Draco who was still lying on the ground. He watched her, her back stiff. He looked around and suddenly, they were both in a little room.

The room was packed full of people. Draco knew what this memory was, he looked back at Granger who looked could turn out very badly..

Draco hit his pocket and felt something, he pulled it out..

His wand!

He grabbed Granger's hand, which made her instantly try to pull away, "Look in your pocket Granger."

She glared at him, and reached into her waistband, she felt the wood in between her fingers. She pulled it out and almost kissed it.

Her wand!

Suddenly, the room started to stir.

Malfoy racked his brain and knew this memory.

Oh god..

Hermione watched the scene as some people grabbed a frail looking Draco Malfoy. They marched him forward and sat him in a chair. What was happening?

In a second, a creature like person stepped forward. Hermione's eyes widened, that was Voldemort! She turned her head away, the bile and intense hatred boiling to the surface. She clutched her wand, wanting to unleash a stream of curses at him. That vile monster had destroyed so many lives..

Draco knew there was nothing he could do but watch the memory play out before them.

"We are joined here by Mr. Draco Malfoy my friends. His father has told me he is ready for his mark on the wizarding world. Now..Draco, hold out your arm for me."

Hermione backed up, no, no...

She couldn't watch this.

Draco felt his skin tingle as he watched the branding. The worst night of his life...

Voldemort held up his wand and pointed it into the younger man's arm, mumbling something. The people around him had started to clap and cheer. Draco remembered this moment, he felt the cries hit nothing but a wall, as he felt the last of his soul and sanity slip away into the night. His innocence stripped, ripped out of him.

He choked on a sob.

Hermione heard Draco and turned her head slightly. He had his hand covering his eyes, not able to watch the rest of the ceremony. His body shook so badly, she was afraid he'd fall over.

 _'Sometimes we must do things to survive.'_ She remembered the words that he had yelled at her not to long before they had arrived here.

Was he right?

She watched as the blood flowed down his forearm, washing the floor of the room as his brand sunk into his flesh. Her stomach rolled and she looked away.

Hermione had to listen to what her heart was telling her..

Her hand went out and grabbed his own, Draco looked down at their joined fingers and back at her.

Hermione knew now that he had no choice. His life had been planned, meticulously laid out before him. Every move manipulated, placed according to what his father wanted. His anger, his defensiveness, his arrogance, childishness, was all a facade.

Malfoy stared at her, his eyes watching her features, they were steely, determined.

Hermione knew what she believed, knew what this whole experience was supposed to teach her. She squeezed his fingers, trying to elicit strength for him.

The hour chimed, just as the memory was coming to a close, they were then pulled back into the darkness.

* * *

I hope you're enjoying it so far. If so, drop me a review, they're always appreciated.

Love, H.


	5. Ophidiophobia

_**The snake slithered towards him, its fangs shiny in the darkness, dripping with venom. Its red eyes bore into his, and he knew, without hesitation that this was the end of him.**_

* * *

Hermione looked over at the man beside her, he was rubbing his knee, wincing in pain.

"Why is it that these damn dreams have to fling us to the floor?" He griped, moving his pant leg up to access the damage.

She didn't say anything to him, her mind still on the last destination. So, she knew now that Malfoy had taken the dark mark, but not by his own choosing. It still sent a wave of extreme unease over her person. She knew this information was not safe, and if Harry found out hell would certainly unleash.

Hermione pushed the thought back for the moment and looked around. Glancing down at her watch it was 9:03, they had fifty seven minutes till they transitioned.

She walked around, they were in a chamber like place, water littered the floor, large puddles everywhere. Hermione clutched her wand and kept it to where she could reach it easily. There was something, something very familiar about this vicinity.

Draco peeled himself off the stones and watched as Granger hesitantly moved around. Where were they?

It was 9:14 when they heard the strange hiss that sounded down one of the tunnels. Hermione was on the alert instantly and moved her wand to her hand. Draco however, was still looking around when he heard the hiss as well. A large movement to his right caught his attention and he moved towards it. There was a tunnel, but nothing in it.

Hermione knew suddenly what this was.

"Malfoy..this is not good.."

Draco saw something in the distance and moved closer to it. A ferocious growl knocked him off his feet and a large head struck at him.

"Fucking hell!"

Hermione heard the ruckus and ran over to the tunnel that Malfoy had just went down. She was almost knocked over when he ran out, grabbing her wrist, steering them back into the main chamber.

"We've got to get the hell out of here Granger!"

Hermione was stumbling over stone, trying to keep up with the silver headed boy in front of her. They were some distance away when she jerked her arm free. "Malfoy! Stop for a second! You're bloody fast and I can't keep up with you!"

He stopped and caught his breath, glaring at her.

"Listen woman, if you want to stay and be eaten by that beast, be my guest. It might slow it down a little bit."

She glared and turned around, hearing nothing but silence.

"We're in the chamber of secrets, Harry came in here his second year."

Draco was still panting slightly, "Oh yes, to bad we don't have scar-head here to help save the day again."

Hermione decided to just ignore that little quip, they didn't have time to childishly argue right now.

"So, if my readings and if Harry's story is correct that thing is the Basilisk. The creature that was in the school and petrifying everyone. Including me.."

Hermione remembered those red eyes, sending a shiver through her.

"Malfoy, you must not look in its eyes. It's instantaneous death if you do."

"That's just great," he mumbled.

Hermione nodded her head, looking down at her watch, 9:24. "Listen, we don't have to fight it, just avoid it for the next half hour. " As soon as the words left her mouth, a screeching down the tunnel caught their attention and they were running again. Draco was on her heels as she shot out, scanning her eyes for anywhere to go.

She was running when she heard the screeching again, she clapped her hands to her ears, not wanting to hear the sound anymore. Her foot suddenly twisted, eliciting a sickly crunch. She screamed, but did not falter, the pain running up to her knee.

Draco turned and yelled "Diffindo!" at the snake, trying to harm it in any way. A louder shriek split the air and a crashing rattled the floor. Hermione turned the corner and hit another tunnel, Draco was crashing in behind her. She spotted a small spot behind the tunnel wall that they could crouch and hopefully not be spotted.

Her ankle was on fire and she bit her lip. She clutched the wall, and pushed herself to walk the remaining steps. Draco stopped running, looking at her. He glanced down and noticed her ankle had become very swollen, he wasted no time and hoisted her into his arms, all but flinging her into the small space, settling in beside her. Hermione looked at him wide-eyed, had he just assisted her?

He knelt beside her foot and grasped it, it was sprained. She sucked in a breath through her teeth, the pain rendering her breath. Draco had his wand out, his eyes trained on her swollen flesh. He ran his wand gently over her ankle, "Ferula." Hermione watched as her ankle went back to its normal state,bandages aligning her skin now, he had used a healing spell on her.

Draco ran his fingers over the area, these would help the sprain, it was almost fully healed but would need another fresh set of bandages soon.

She managed a glance at her watch, 9:40. They had twenty minutes to go.

The little spot was extremely uncomfortable, her and Malfoy were basically on top of each other, which made her feel odd.

Her mind was ripped away from that thought, when a loud moving sound caught her ears, she grabbed Malfoy by the shoulder and forced him down. She shut her eyes, trying to focus on where the sound might be. It appeared louder now and she realized with a sickening feeling in her stomach that it was right beside them. She stopped breathing, knowing that this thing had excellent hearing.

Tears leaked down her nose, she did not want to die this way.

Malfoy knew in his belly that thing would end up hearing them, or seeing them. With his eyes shut tight, he had an idea. His hand reached up and he grabbed Granger's shoulder, trying to get her attention. She jumped, but opened her eyes at him. Malfoy moved closer to her, their noses touching. He didn't like being this close to her, but knew this was life and death, so he sucked it up. Hermione felt his breath on her face and her cheeks reddened. No time for that mess.

Draco brought his wand up, touching her cheek. Hermione went wide-eyed, afraid of what he'd do. He shook his head, putting a finger to his lips, he placed his wand under her jaw bone, whispering, "Silencio."

Hermione opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her eyes were wide, questioning.

Draco knew that if he was going to do this it would be better if she wasn't throwing questions and screaming, making the snake more distracted. He pushed her head down, his own eyes open and watching the snake in front of them. He saw the back of its head, looking around, another second more and its eyes would land on him, and he'd be ready. He remembered what Granger had said, the eyes would be an instant death.

Hermione was looking around, she couldn't move her lips at all, what the in the heavens was Malfoy thinking!? He would get an earful when he took this bloody ward off of her, she'd see to it! She was watching him as he held his wand up, he looked like he was timing something..

Draco watched as the snake's head turned slightly, almost to them, he pointed the wand directly at where his eyes would land and screamed, "Conjunctivitis!"

Hermione flinched at the agonizing scream that ripped through the air. Draco watched as the eyes of the snake were gouged out. He grabbed Granger's hand and hauled her up, running to where they moved by the snake and back into the main chamber. When they had stopped, he pushed his wand into Granger's face and said, "Finite Incantatum."

She touched her lips, and before she could stop herself the words were falling out. "You complete git, why did you put me under a silencing spell?"

Draco didn't have time to leap out of the way before the snake was crashing through the adjacent wall, knocking them both into separate water puddles. Hermione felt the air leave her as she fell back against the hard floor. She scrambled for her wand that had been knocked out of her hand.

The snake had stopped, its head turned in the opposite direction. Now that it couldn't see them, it would have to do with listening. Hermione looked at her watch, 9:56. Just four minutes! She grabbed Malfoy's hand, pulling him up, she noticed the blood that now leaked down his nose. It only took that movement and the Basilisk was striking at them, its fangs narrowly missing Hermione's leg. She screamed and lept out of the way. It struck again, the side of its head hitting Malfoy, sending him flying through the air again.

Hermione raised her wand, the only word going through her head.

"Expulso!"

The noise was like a bomb going off. Draco felt himself being lifted off his feet and the air was thick around him as he watched the snake explode. Granger maybe should have rethought that one..

In the midst, a chime sounded in the witches ear.

They flew through the air, to the adjacent side of the room, instead of hitting stone, they felt the darkness envelope them.

* * *

When they came to, six minutes later, Hermione saw trees looming above, she rolled off her back, a trickle caught her attention as she saw the leaves below her get soaked with blood. She panicked as her hand flew to her head. She checked her skull, no blood there. Her hand moved to her right ear, her palm now soaked. Her ear was ringing, the pain almost unbearable. She had blown out one of her ear drums.

It could be fixed, as soon as her thoughts were less jumbled, she'd figure it out.

She turned her head, finding Malfoy unconscious. Scooting closer, she lifted his head. There was no injury on his head or the sides of his head. On closer inspection she noticed the bleeding on his side. A twinge of extreme guilt closed over as she found that one of his ribs were badly broken. He had a large gash run over his pale skin, the blood flooding the woods beneath them. She had to mend it now, or he would surely be in a lot of trouble.

Hermione knew of a good healing spell that would definitely work. She had been with Madame Pomfrey for a few days, learning things here and there, encase she ever came across a reason to use them. This healing spell however, was painful, and she was glad that Malfoy was unconscious. She moved his shirt up, exposing as much as the damage as possible. His skin lay in an open tatter, it was worse than first thought and Hermione had little time.

She ran her wand a long the top of the broken skin, mumbling in a shaky voice. "Vulnera Sanentur." The charm itself had to be said in a song like voice, or it would not work. The skin moved slightly, the wound closing a little bit. She redid the process three times before the blood stopped running. This time, she ran her wand over the wound itself, saying the same thing. A small stitch like pattern ran over his side, Malfoy flinched and started to move. Hermione held onto his side, trying to keep him in place. She was almost done, for this round any way. She redid the process again, the stitching going deeper into the skin. He growled and his hand shot over to where she was working.

"Stop Malfoy! I'm trying to help you!"

The sound sounded very strange to Hermione. It was muffled, and she suddenly got very dizzy.

Another round and Hermione was done with Malfoy's side. She sat on her knees and put her head down, the dizziness almost making her pass out.

When she got her wits back a little bit, she moved her wand up and pointed it at her ear. "Tergeo," she said, cleaning the blood that was running down the side of her head. It did not feel any better but she was glad to get rid of the blood.

It was a few minutes later when Malfoy came to fully. He remembered the blast that had literally knocked him unconscious. Damn Granger, what was she thinking using that spell? He knew what she was thinking, it was a big creature and she probably assumed it would only blow the snake up, not almost the entire chamber. It couldn't be helped now. His hand ran over his person, his head first, then the rest of him. His fingers ran over his side, where he had pain for the first few seconds before the darkness took him for the second time. Odd, he felt small endentions of what felt like stitching.

He had been wounded, and from his what he felt was rather badly. Someone had healed him...

Draco got up, mindful of his now healed side. Granger had collapsed beside him, her right side stuck up. He sucked in a breath when he saw her hair soaked in dried blood. Hesitating slightly at the thought of touching her blood, he moved it out of the way. Her ear was numb, and extremely red.

Jesus, what had she done?

She stirred and sat up.

Draco backed up to give her room.

Hermione knew he was standing over her, probably inspecting what her stupidity had gotten them. Tears flooded her eyes, the guilt coursing through her, she could have gotten them killed.

Draco watched as she wiped her eyes.

"Is the pain bad? What did you do to your ear?"

She was surprised at his question, she expected him to scream at her and call her a stupid little mud-blood. Her hand went up to her injured appendage. "I blew out my ear-drum."

Draco flinched and dropped beside her. His hand went out to inspect it again, there was nothing he could do about it though.

Biting her lip, she had to say something about what had just happened.

"I-I'm sorry."

His fingers fell back to his lap, his eyebrow arching.

"I could have killed both of us by firing that spell at the Basilisk."

Draco nodded his head, "Yeah you could have, but you didn't so leave it alone Granger. You also saved us both."

"Yeah, but at what cost. When I came to your side was literally split open."

He sighed and stood up.

"Don't be so distraught because you did _one_ thing wrong. It's fine, I'm fine, you however, are not fine." He pointed at her ear.

"It's an easy fix, but I don't have the tools to mend it right now." She said to him.

Hermione did not know what else to say and stared at him, searching for any injuries she might have missed. A tiny bit of blood on his finger caught her eye. She stood up and grasped his hand. "Are you injured here?"

He looked down and shook his hand free of her grasp. "No, I just got a bit of blood on it."

She looked at him confused, "Malfoy, if it's an injury, stop being so proud and let me heal it."

"It's not a damn injury Granger. I just got some blood on my hand alright? Jesus god, do you have to be so insufferable all the time?"

Hermione watched as he walked away from her. That was not his blood, she took mind to get it all off of him. She did remember a soothing hand move her hair to the side when she was passed out, inspecting her wound.

Was it him?

Was that her blood?

It was supposed to repulse him, it just left her in questions and confused.

* * *

Another chapter for everyone. I hope you like it so far. Thank you for reading. :)

Love, H.


	6. Hylophobia

**_She ran around, her hands caught in her mass of curls. Where had they gone?The darkness was starting to loom over her, the many sounds frightening her more. She was running, and she suddenly tripped over a root that was not within her eye sight. Crying, she shoved her face into her hands, they would never find her.._**

* * *

Hermione and Draco walked through the woods, both confused to where they were.

"I know this is not one of my fears, unless we're in the forbidden forest." Malfoy said to her, throwing a little stick.

Hermione shook her head, walking ahead of him. "No, we're certainly not there, it's denser than this."

Still, this place was oddly calming and it suddenly hit Hermione that they were in the Forest of Dean.

She smiled and walked forward again.

"What is it?" He asked her.

"I've been here. I was here with my family, it was after first year, over the summer. They brought me here because I was overwhelmed with my studies."

He listened to her as she touched one of the trees.

"I got lost on the second day, I had gone down to one of the creeks and got turned around. It took all night for them to find me. It was utterly terrifying."

She waited to continue, the thought of her parents sent a hard knot to her throat. Gulping back the tears, she started to talk again.

"After that happened, I developed this fear of being lost and the woods. It was inevitable really, I was only little and very immature. I didn't grasp the concept of 'not going off on my own.' My stubbornness I guess."

Malfoy remembered what she was like in first year. Yeah, he could see that. It taught her a little lesson to not be such a know-it-all. He didn't throw a jibe out though, the memory probably being painful enough for her. That wasn't like him, he shook it off.

"Okay so, we're here because you were kind of dumb and decided to go off without your parents. So, what now?"

Hermione shrugged and sat on the forest floor. "There really is nothing harmful here, I mean do we really need anything else that is dangerous that we're running away from?"

She had a point.

Looking down at her watch she saw the time, 10:25. Well, if they were going to rest, they needed to do it now. God knows what the next destination would be. Hermione pulled out her wand and started a little fire, the air was starting to get a little bite to it.

Draco sat across from her, luckily there was a little tree.

Silence passed in between them. Draco shifted uncomfortably.

"How does your ear feel?"

Hermione touched it, the throbbing distracting her.

"Hurts immensely."

"Why a snake?" She said to him.

Draco was staring at the flames, not wanting to answer the question.

"I'm afraid of snakes, when I was a little boy, there was one in our garden. A rattle snake."

Hermione turned her left ear to him, processing his words better on this side of her head.

"It almost bit me, but I moved in time to get out of the way of its fangs. Scared the piss out of me. Been afraid of them ever since. And when I found out what exactly what was in the chamber, well, I was glad that I was not the heir of Slytherin."

Hermione was shocked at those words.

"R-Really?"

He stared at her and nodded.

"I would just assume that you would be exstatic to be the heir of Slytherin."

"And why is that?"

"It would definitely put you in good standing with Voldemort." The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

"Don't say his bloody name!"

"Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself." She sternly said to him, her eyes never leaving his form.

"I am bloody afraid of him, I'm not delusional enough to not be!"

She rolled her eyes and threw a stick at the fire.

"You honestly think that you and your friends are going to win?!"

She forced her chin up, her teeth gritting together. "I know we will. I'm so sorry that your mind is so corrupted that you don't see anything but what your father puts in front of you."

He doubled back, but Hermione could have swore she saw an involuntary flinch.

Draco's hand shook to grab his wand but he thought better of it and walked away from her. Hermione watched as he walked off, not caring, she put her head against the bark of the tree and shut her eyes. Before falling asleep, she lifted her wand and put a shield around herself, in case Malfoy got any stupid ideas.

A snapping twig caught her attention, and she was ripped out of her small slumber. Looking up, she didn't see anybody. The flames had died down, leaving nothing but darkness surrounding her. She looked about but did not see Draco, he hadn't come back yet.

The sound was drawing closer, she began to get a little more nervous. Looking down at her watch it read 10:43, the sound got louder and Hermione decided it was time to move her spot.

She started to walk in the direction of where Malfoy had gone. Her ear was ringing again, making her feel dizzy all over again.

When the sound sounded like a crashing behind her, she started to run. The world was spinning around her but she still found the strength to keep going.

"Malfoy!" She yelled weakly.

The entity was right behind her now and she was sure she would die of anxiety, if the animal didn't kill her first.

Draco was still walking, trying to clear his head. The words of that stupid mud-blood sounded in his brain, his gaze absently went down to his left hand, where her blood had been. It hadn't looked dirty to him, just, like his own. It made him feel slightly strange, that revelation had. He had been taught his entire life that mud-bloods and muggles were dirty. Beneath him. His mind though, ever since this little adventure had began had started to change, what to, he was not sure.

He was still deep in thought when screams hit his ears. That was Granger.

"Lumos."

He walked in the direction of the sound, his steps falling faster.

Hermione knew something was behind her, hearing the sounds in the darkness looming ever closer. Her tears were blurring, and the sounds were rushing through her head, the world was tilting on its axis, not allowing her to run straight anymore.

She fell on the ground, vomit close to the surface. Whatever was chasing her, it had won. She felt the end grow closer and thought of her friends and family. They'd be devastated..

Draco saw a limp form on the ground. He looked up just in time to see the deer that had been chasing Granger dart back into the brush. Was that what she was screaming about?

Hermione lifted her head up, not expecting to see Malfoy standing not to far away from her. "I-Is it gone?"

"Yes Granger, the deer is gone."

The words hit her hard. Was that what it was?

"D-Deer? No, you're joking. Stop joking."

He lifted his shoulders, not knowing what to say.

Hermione felt extremely foolish and embarrassed. Putting her head back against the ground, she wept, she wanted to go home. Exhaustion settled in her mind, and she let it ease over her.

Malfoy watched the pitiful girl lay there and cry, over what? A mistake?

He heard a clock chime in the distance and the world around him fell away. Reaching out, he didn't have time to take Granger's hand before she was falling into the next scenario. Hitting the ground now he would have to hear more crying come from her. He pointed his wand at her unconscious form, "Arresto Momentum." He then pointed the wand at himself, saying the same thing.

Hermione awoke to music around her. It was soft, harmonious. Where were they? And how come the fall didn't wake her up? Sitting up, the throb was gone from her eardrum, which left her grateful. Crawling off the ground, she realized they were in the courtyard. Her clothing felt different, she looked down and was dumbfounded to find that she was in her dress from fourth year. It was a soft baby pink, not as dark as the previous one. Her hair, instead of being pushed to the side to fall on her shoulder, lay in softer curls about her.

Draco was standing against one of the poles before the entrance into the Great Hall. He looked at her, the moonlight catching his face. He was also decked out in his dress robes, his hair slicked back from his eyes. He looked handsome standing there. It wasn't like she would ever say so though.

"Why are we here of all places?" She asked.

He shrugged, "It's a nice change from running and screaming. Maybe _someone_ is afraid of dancing. Certainly not me." He raised his eyebrow at her, expecting her to explain this little fear of hers.

Hermione blushed and looked down. "W-Well, it was my first ball, and first time to dance with someone. It was just a fleeting fear, only brought on a few days before and during." She mumbled the last bit.

Draco opened the door, "Since this is a memory Granger, we won't be seen. So my first stop is the food table."

The elaborate room welcomed her and she felt a tightening in her chest.

* * *

I'm sorry, this chapter was a little shorter, I just needed a quiet chapter for these two. I hope you're enjoying it so far, it is a little different, and I'm still trying to make everything come together a little better.

Love, H.


	7. Chorophobia

_**She moved in Victor's arms, he spun her in a quick manner, making her a feel a little dizzy. He was fast and jerky, not slow and steady. She didn't figure he'd be.. Her own steps were messy and untrained, and so were his it seemed..**_

I hope this chapter isn't to sappy for some viewers.

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me, of course.

Oh and if you'd like, you can play the song if you want.

* * *

Hermione weaved through the room, moving to stand beside the two friends who could not see her. Stopping beside Ron and Harry, she watched as they cracked jokes about her dancing with Victor Krum. She rolled her eyes, when would Ron ever grow up? At least Harry had told her she looked nice.

She looked out at the dance floor, watching her younger self dance with the Quiditch player. He still looked as handsome as she remembered, and she also remembered how everyone had reacted when they found out she was the one he had asked. Like a man had spotted she was actually a woman. Ron of course, was the worst.

Sighing, she back-tracked and went over to the refreshment table. Food was spread out before her and she picked through, feeling almost fully refreshed. The lights suddenly, went down around her, signaling the next dance was slow. Getting a cup of punch, she watched some couples leave the dance floor and the rest stay. Draco was one of the one's that remained with his date. For some reason, Hermione felt a very strange emotion ripple through her.

The younger Draco looked more alive than this one did. His face was lighter, his sneer not as prominent or malicious. Clearing her head of those thoughts she felt fingers on her upper arm. She swung around and met a pair of grey eyes.

"You scared the life out of me." She breathed, putting a hand to her chest.

He grunted, his eyes sweeping the dance floor.

"Ugh, I can't believe I came with Pansy, what a waste of a ball."

Hermione looked at his features, he did look repulsed. "Well, why did you?" She questioned him, her arms crossed.

He shrugged, his features now turning crass, "She was easy."

Hermione didn't have to wander what that meant and rolled her eyes. Turning away, she went back to the refreshments table. He followed her over.

"Well, why did you go with the Russian oaf over there?"

She gawked at him, "He is not an oaf, he was a perfect gentleman to me."

He smirked at her, picking up a cup of pumpkin juice. "Granger, come now. Look at you both. He looks like he's trodding all over your feet. You can't tell me that whirling and twirling didn't leave you a dizzy mess?"

Her mouth fell open again, she squeezed her cup tighter. "Sod off Malfoy. You sound like an arrogant, pompous arse!" At that insult she walked away from him, leaving a smirking Malfoy in her wake.

She went outside, needing air. God, even at this dance she had a man harassing her for who she had brought. The sound of the door shutting caught her attention, she turned and wanted to scream, there Malfoy was.

"If you're going to be a git, leave me be."

"Now Granger, don't be like that." He came beside her and put his hand on her shoulder.

She looked at his hand then back at him.

"I'll even do you a favor, and show you how a true gentleman dances."

He retracted his hand from her shoulder and held it out for her. "A gentleman? Well, when one comes a long and can dance, you let me know." She sniped at him.

His eyebrow suddenly twitched. Before she knew it, he caught her petite hand and wrapped it around his own, pulling her towards him.

"Before a man starts dancing, he bows to his lady, or girl, what have you." He spun her a little bit, not in a panicked frenzy like Victor had.

"He also, moves his hand to the crook of her back and barely presses down, but he does so in a fashion so she knows that he is the one leading her."

Hermione could only hear him in one of her ears, but even so, she could hear the huskiness that now laced his voice. It left her heart fluttering and warmed her face.

Her feet were moving with his, softly, and she couldn't help but notice that Draco Malfoy was indeed good at dancing. Beneath his dress robes she felt his broad shoulders beneath her finger tips. When she had danced with Victor, she barely had time to hang on before he was barreling her around the floor like some rag doll.

"Now, I'm going to dip you."

His hand ran up her back to the middle of her shoulder blades as he gently moved her to his side, her curls fluttering in the breeze.

Hermione couldn't help the laugh that fell past her lips.

Draco watched as he dipped the girl in front of him. He could never admit but she looked remarkable in that dress. Even more so than when he had first seen her at the Yule Ball.

When he had seen her, he knew that Pansy was a pale comparison beside her, simply because he had never seen Granger look so dazzling, Pansy always had makeup caked on her features. The little tart.

After minutes of small turns and little dips here and there, Hermione was going to pull away when a song that she knew split through the air. How come they were playing that here?

Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers. Maybe her subconscious had thought it up and the room was simply honoring her wishes. The song itself had been her parents song to each other. Ever since her mother had played it for her she had fallen in love with it.

Draco heard the soft but intense tune filter through the air. He looked down at Granger, her eyes were brown but intense in the moonlight. He clutched her to him again and started to sway with her body. His hands caught at the juncture of her hips and did not move.

 ** _Oh, my love, my darling I've hungered for your touch A long, lonely time Time goes by so slowly And time can do so much_**

She couldn't take the intense gaze of his eyes and looked at his chest.

 ** _Are you still mine?_**  
 ** _I need your love I need your love God speed your love to me_**

They swayed and she noticed that little flurries started to come down around them.

 ** _Lonely rivers flow To the sea, to the sea To the open arms of the sea Lonely rivers sigh "Wait for me, wait for me"_**  
 ** _I'll be coming home, wait for me_**

Draco suddenly twirled her, pulling her back to him. Hermione couldn't help the erogenous way he was treating her now. His fingers were doing little dances of their own.

 ** _Oh, my love, my darling I've hungered, for your touch A long, lonely time Time goes by so slowly And time can do so much Are you still mine?_**

He twirled her out and back into him again. His hands ran up to her shoulders and back down again. Hermione was finding it hard to breath now, the look in his eyes making her heart beat pound against her rib cage. The climax of the song was coming..

Draco was just staring at her, her lips, her hair. He couldn't help it, she looking enticing and so beautiful..

 ** _I need your love I need your love God speed your love to me_**

Before Hermione could react his lips descended upon hers as he pulled her body closer to his. They were soft and warm, and Hermione couldn't help but hands found themselves in his hair, then his cheeks as the kiss seemed to go on for forever. At the end end of the song, he suddenly dipped her, and they pulled away panting from each eyes were dark and hazy, and hers were alight with questions.

Before she could utter a syllable she felt the darkness slip over her and she was tossed back into the darkness.

* * *

It's shorter I know! But, I have to leave it there. From here on out the chapters will go back to being longer. Tell me how you like it :)

Love, H.


	8. Hemophobia

**_He watched as his father pulled the mask onto his face, the cheers from the crowd still drowning in his ear drum. He had always known what his father could be. And now, presented with it, he felt his heart drop in despair._**

I guess this chapter should have a slight warning. If you don't like violence, I guess skip this one. It's not to bad, I just thought I'd leave a little note up here.

* * *

Draco didn't know what had come over him when he decided to kiss Granger. It was honestly just spur of the moment, and now he didn't know what to say to the bloody girl.

He had awoken to smoke around him. He shot up from his spot on the ground, his hand absenteley going over to where Granger would be. She was not there.

Looking around, he knew instantly where they were. They were at the tri-wizard tournament before fourth year. He had been there with his father, they had been talking to Cornelius Fudge previously, right before the death-eaters had decided to march on the festivities.

They were a little away from the chaos. He had to find Granger.

The screaming around him was distracting him from what he was supposed to be doing. He now knew this was no memory, this is what his mind had conjured up on the train ride to Hogwarts. He had wandered what would have happened if things had turned out worse at the Tournament.

He blasted himself slightly in that moment.

"Granger! Where the bloody fuck are you!"

A spell whizzed past him. He dodged and jumped back up, gaining speed in his search. If his father was amongst the death-eaters, he would for sure know where Harry Potter and his group were located.

* * *

Hermione was running among everybody else. Her feet were getting tangled with everybody as they desperately clawed their way out of dangers grasp. She had remembered that when this certain event had happened she had been taken away, leaving Harry to fend for himself.

A loud crash made her whip her head around, a spell was flying towards the group she ran with, making one of the tents burst into flames. The heat hit her face and she felt herself cascading towards the earth.

Another spell flew past her.

"Protego!" She screamed.

Gaining her footing, she started to bolt through the tents, changing course. She knew where everyone was gathering, and decided to make her way to that area.

Her head went to Malfoy, but she knew that he would be alright.

* * *

Malfoy stumbled upon people on the ground, the unlucky bastards that were in the way of the explosions. A child was screaming on the side of the dirt path, grating on mentality. It was a little girl, screaming for her mother.

He didn't know what came over him as he reached down and grabbed her. She continued to scream in his ear, crying desperately for her parents. He rubbed her back in a soothing manner.

"Granger! Where the bloody hell are you!?"

* * *

Hermione saw one of the masked men grab a woman by the front of her clothing. She raised her wand, "Stupefy!" He went soaring back from them and she grabbed the woman off the ground. The young girl clutched at her forearm, running a long the path with her.

"Thank you so much!" The girl screamed over the noise.

Hermione nodded her head but continued to run.

* * *

Draco hoisted the kid up. Tons of flashes were bolting across the sky now, the dark mark pistined against the cloud coverage. The child whimpered and shoved her face against the crook of his neck.

The chaos got greater as Draco saw groups of the masked men make their way to them. One of the men stopped in front of Draco, raising his wand up to the silver-haired wizard. The younger man glared at him, dodging the curse that flew at him. Setting the child down for just a second, he whipped his wand out.

"You stupid fuck!"

The death-eater bellowed and stepped to him again, "Imperio!"

"Protego!"

Draco didn't waste time for that parasite to mumble a different curse, he was to it first.

"Confringo!"

The mans robes burst into flames, making him scream. Draco reached down and grabbed the little girl again, running off.

* * *

Hermione still had the young girl beside her. She was firing curses and hexes left and right, some hitting some not. Draco popped up into her mind again, would he be alright? Looking down at her watch again, it read 12:22. Damnit, that was enough time for him to get seriously injured.

A burst to the left of her sent her flying again. She laid in a heap not far away, she looked to her side the girl laying beside her. She however, was holding onto her side, one of her arms laying in tatters. Hermione watched as the blood poured from her wound.

"Oh god, oh god." She mumbled to the young woman.

"Am I dying?" She asked Hermione, tears mixing with blood from her mouth.

* * *

Draco had slowed down, his energy nearly spent. The little girls in his arms was no longer wailing. She sniffled in his hair, her eyes looking out to the destruction. He internally hated that she was seeing this, knowing that if he was in her shoes at this age, he'd be freaking out even worse.

He put her down, gripping her hand. Lowering himself down onto one of his knees he looked at her. "Stay with me until we find your parents alright?"

She nodded her head, wiping dried tears from her cheeks.

"Good."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo

Hermione was applying pressure to the girls arm, trying her hardest to stop the bleeding. She was whimpering beneath her, mumbling something intelligible. "P-Please, i-if I.."

Hermione was not listening, she refused to let her die. "Stop that, I will not let you die, do you hear me!?"

* * *

Draco kept his eyes open for any threats. The chaos started to die down a little bit, the smoke however was still thick in the air. He lifted his arm to cover it, only now noticing that he was no longer in his dress robes. Odd.

"If the air becomes too thick for you, you need to cover your mouth." He said the young child, who nodded her head at him.

Malfoy kept his eyes open for Granger.

* * *

She was running her wand over the young girls arm in a ferocious pace, trying to salvage some of the muscles here and there. Her hands were streaked in blood, its heat making her feel nauseous, she could not give up though. Her hands were fumbling for a pulse when the girl suddenly went pale. There was a small one, but infrequent.

Draco was still dragging the little girl beside him when he saw the man come out of the shadows.

"Ah, look here. A little mud-blood child. Lost are we?"

Malfoy whipped his wand out, pushing the kid behind him. So, this little girl was a muggle born? How had the death eater known that?

The masked man wasted no time, unlike the other one. "Levicorpus!"

Draco had managed to dodge that one, but the child had not been so lucky. She was now dangling in the air, her screams puncturing the air and Malfoy's chest.  
He raised his wand at the man, "Incarcerous!"

His wandmanship was expert. He deflected that spell like it was nothing. He started to walk towards the child, his wand still drawn.

"You slimy bastard!" He screamed, raising his wand again, "Expelliarmus!"

He had deflected it again.

Draco shoved his wand down, flinging himself off of the ground. He succeeded in tackling the man before he touched the child, knocking him off his feet and onto his back. He raised his fist and it connected with a sickening crunch against the mans nose. The darker man yelled and moved his head in time to miss another blow to his jaw this time.

Draco struggled with the man on the ground, his hands finding his throat and squeezing with all his strength. He reined another blow to his temple. The masked man got his leg under Draco and flipped him over. When he was able to climb back onto his feet, he pointed the wand again, "Crucio!"

The spell was blinding as pain ripped through every muscle, every vessel, every pore in his body. He let out an ear piercing scream as the pain turned into complete agony. He twitched uncontrollably, his hands clutching the earth under him. It felt like minutes before it finally ended. Draco managed a glance up to the man who was now shoving his wand into the neck of the child. A choking sound caught his ears and he felt for his wand, finding it he held it up. His hand shaking uncontrollably he mumbled..

"Avada Kedavra.."

* * *

Hermione was sobbing now, her tears mixing in with the blood that now coated her. The girl had gone pale, almost blue. She could no longer find her pulse point. No. NO.

Draco checked the child out to make sure she was alright. She was crying a little bit, "That man was choking me with something invisible.." She said to him.

He looked at her, his eyes soft. "That was a bad man, he won't bother you anymore okay?" She nodded her head, sniffling.

She would have a bit of bruising but she would be alright. He shook with the memory that he had just used the killing curse on another human being, albeit it was a good cause.

Steering the kid away from the sight of the body, he continued on his trek.

It took a few more minutes when he suddenly caught sight of a woman on the ground, her mass of curls hunched over something. Dropping the hand of the little girl, he ran over to her. His hands gripped her shoulders, lifting her face to meet his. His eyes scoured her features, making sure she had no serious injuries.

Hermione pulled away from him, her main concern on the fallen girl below them.

"We have to get her to a h-healer."

Draco observed the young woman, her features stiff and pale. "Granger, she's dead."

Hermione sobbed again, "No! I promised her she'd be okay!" She ran her wand over the wound again, mumbling the same healing spell over and over. Her hand shook so much, he was afraid it would fall off.

He looked over to the child who's face was blank and frightened. Her eyes were scanning the crowd when suddenly, her face lit up. "Mama!"

A woman with blonde hair ran at her child, gripping her and crushing her against her chest. Sobs of happiness drifted to Draco, and he couldn't help the smile that fell against his own features.

"Where did you go Evee?!" She said to her daughter.

"I got lost in the crowd mama, but that man over there." She pointed to Malfoy, "He saved me. A man was trying to hurt me, but he stopped him."

The woman made her way to Draco, her hand stuck out, "I don't know how to thank you sir, for saving my daughter. I don't know what I wou-"

"It's alright, truly, I'm just glad that I could do something."

The woman nodded again, a lone tear slipping down her cheek. "I am full of gratitude, thank you again." At that, she turned and walked away from Malfoy. He felt a swelling in his heart, then he turned back to Hermione, her hands still clutching the wound that she could not stop.

"Granger." He started, the words thick and low. "The girl is dead, there is nothing you can do now."

She shook her head, "No. There has to be something that can be done. Something! Anything!"

Draco tried to pry her off of the dead girl, to no avail. He saw her clock and looked at the time, it read 12:57. He gripped her shoulders, pulling her up. "No! Get your hands off of me! I have to help her! Stop it!"

He shoved Granger's back against his chest, wrapping his arms around her struggling figure. He was trying to get her under control when she swung her head back and it smacked into his nose. He dropped her and mumbled a curse word.

She flung herself over the body again, her hands now open on the girls chest, her palms face down. Hermione started to pump in rhythm, leaning down, closing the girls nostrils and breathing air into her mouth. Draco had never seen anything like that in his life.

Hermione continued to do this to no avail.

Draco watched and suddenly heard a chime. He walked forward again and grabbed Granger's shoulders, pinning her to him once again. She screamed and was scrabbling, trying to pry his fingers off of her.

"Stop it Draco! She's not dead yet! LET ME GO!"

Malfoy felt the air around them, and saw the blackness envelope them. The sobs of his companion were the only sounds that he heard as they hit the earth with a sickening thud.

Hermione peeled herself away from Malfoy's arms, stumbling to a brush that stood in the way. She knelt down and vomited all over the leaves. Dry heaves wracked her small form and she held her stomach as images of death and blood flew through her minds eye. Her bloodied hands gripped the tree beside her, leaving small trails in their wake. Hot tears made their way down her cheeks due to the force of her retching.

Draco watched as she emptied her stomachs contents, the heaves making his stomach do a little back flip of its own.

He looked up and realized they were in the woods outside his home.

Malfoy manor loomed in the distance and he looked over at Granger who was wrapped in a pitiful ball beside the greenery.

* * *

Another chapter done! I hope you enjoyed this one. Give me your ideas, thoughts, reviews if you care to. Oh and I did split up the parts, because they were happening at the same time but they were different events and I didn't want to confuse anyone. If you are, just tell me and I'll go back and fix it.

Love, H.


	9. Seeking peace

_**He always remembered being alone when he was younger. His father was always at the ministry and his mother was also out all the time. Her meetings and parties among the pureblood women always beckoned her. It bothered him sometimes, but only sometimes. He actually enjoyed the solitude that came with being alone here. The gardens were elaborate and he always enjoyed the scenery by himself..**_

* * *

Draco grabbed her hand, guiding her through the immense span of gardens. She was like dead weight to him. Looking behind him, he saw that her eyes were far away, almost lifeless.

He let go of the fact that his hands were touching the blood that caked hers. When they went in the house, the shower was their first destination. Well, hers.

Draco stopped outside the back door and whispered, "Homenum Revelio." He looked up and waited to see any orbs that floated toward him, signaling there were people in the house. None floated towards him. He waved his wands again, lowering the wards that were against the handle.

Turning to her he said, "Do not touch the handle. They repel anyone with muggle blood, do you understand?"

Hermione nodded and shrugged.

Draco pushed the door open and saw the blackness of the house. Releasing her fingers, he swung his wand at the lights, turning everything on.

He brought her up the stairs, his door on the far right. He opened the door and guided her towards his bathroom. She still had not said anything to him, her eyes never leaving the floor. Draco reached in and turned on the water, moving back the curtain for her.

"The towels are in the lower cabinet right there." He pointed, but her eyes did not follow.

He sighed and leaned against the door frame. "Granger. What just happened was not real, you do know that right?"

Hermione didn't move, but he could tell she was listening. After a second or two, she replied to him, "It's real Malfoy, in some shape, it's all real."

He didn't answer her, just continued to stare at her prone form. Sighing again, he shut the door.

Rummaging through his fridge he found food that they could eat. He didn't want to alert the elves, due to not wanting to hear Granger about her S.P.E.W nonsense, and the elves would probably alert his father that he was home.

He threw everything on a tray and brought it upstairs. The shower had turned off and Granger now sat on one of his chairs, her clothes now clean. She must have used a cleaning spell.

Setting down the tray, he was next.

Hermione sighed and stood up, trying to shake the images of the dead girls face from her mind. She knew that in due time she would end up seeing a dead body, she knew there was a war coming. Hermione just didn't realize that in would be on her hands.

She went over to the food that Malfoy brought up and sat back down, an orange in her hands. Her thoughts drifted to another instance.

Their kiss.

It was safe to say that her and Malfoy had become something akin to friends, or acquitances that occasionally saved each other. Other than that, she couldn't get her mind to wrap around anything else. Where could it go really? They were on different sides of everything.

She shoved the slices of orange in her mouth, relishing in their sweetness. Looking down at her hands, blood no longer coated them, but she felt like it was still there.

It took her a little bit to wipe all the blood off of her person, some had caked under her nails and dried. She had almost gotten sick all over again. Glancing down at her watch she saw it was only 1:21. It was in the hours of the morning at wondered what everyone was thinking of.

Hermione enjoyed the comfort of the chair, but she got up again to pluck through the pickings of food. She grabbed something else and shoveled it into her mouth. She settled back down, feeling full now. Shutting her eyes, she placed her chin upon her hands, falling into a light doze.

Draco climbed out of the shower into silence. He looked around the room and saw that Granger had fallen asleep in the chair beside the window. He was fully dressed and sat down beside the food on his bed, he noticed that some of it was gone and he glanced up at her. Good, he was glad that she had eaten just a little bit. Why, he didn't know.

He was shoveling food into his mouth when the memory of their kiss flitted across his mind. He swallowed loudly and placed his hands over his eyes. What should he say when she asked about it? It was purely accidental, the heat of the moment honestly, she just looked so enticing. He knew that Granger didn't annoy him as much as she used to.

Her blood status...he just wasn't sure anymore.

There was a small clock beside him and he looked at it. 1:35.

He laid down after he ate, closing his eyes and yawning, he flicked his wand at the back of him, extinguishing the lights. The darkness welcomed him and his eyes shut.

Hermione was reliving what just happened all over again in her mind. There was a person chasing her though. He looked familiar.

 _She was screaming, scrambling to keep his curses from hitting her. Her screams bounced off the tents that were burning down around her. Her wand had been knocked out of her hand minutes before, leaving her powerless._

 _Her foot hit a hole and she sprawled head long on the path. Looking up, backing away slowly she saw the smirking face come into her eye sight._

 _Draco Malfoy._

 _He pointed his wand at her and mumbled, "Crucio."_

 _Hermione's body twisted, her limbs dancing every which way. Her blood was rushing so fast to her heart that she was afraid it would burst from her chest. She screamed loudly, the sound almost deafening._

 _He was laughing at her, moving about her head to fist his hand in her curls. He pulled her up and moved her to where she was looking at him directly in the eyes._

 _She spat at him, glaring hatefully._

 _Draco flung her back down and climbed on top of her struggling form, his hands gripping her wrists. "I'll show you what a mud-blood is good for." His hands twisted in her blouse, ripping it from her person. Hermione moved her hands up to cover her breasts. He slapped her across her jaw, her lip bursting._

Draco woke up to screaming and Hermione moving about on his chair. He got up and clutched her flailing hands, making her struggle harder.

He wondered what she was dreaming to make her react this way.

"Wake up Granger. Wake up." He shook her, her features twisted and she opened her eyes slightly. Upon seeing him, she fought against him again, whimpering as she did so.

"Let go of me, you monster, you r-rapist!"

Draco dropped her hands and backed up. Her nightmare was about him.. About him raping her..

He would never do that to a woman. Never. Any man that could was a disgusting animal..

The thought that she had had that nightmare about him made him slightly angry. After everything they have encountered so far, that was what she thought of him? Even through the stuff he did in school, he'd never thought she would think him capable of that.

Hermione didn't understand the emotions that flitted across his face.

After minutes of silence he decided to just turn away and leave it how it was. He knew that during her emotional state after watching that girl die, she was not in a stable place right now. He did however want answers, but that could come later.

All he did, minutes after their little scene was sit on his bed and wait for the inevitable pull of gravity. He just wanted all of this to be over already. Before the clock chimed, he went over to his window and pulled the curtain back, the gardens looked so peaceful. How he wished he could take a stroll through them. His eyes trailed a long the flowers and small berry bushes in the back.

He glanced again towards the tree line, something had caught his eye. In the distance, he saw a figure staring up at him, or what seemed like a figure. He looked vastly familiar. His long beard caught the light, but before he could be fully noticed he turned and disappeared.

It looked like..

Dumbledore.

* * *

A shorter chapter but it was another quiet one due to the previous one being very dark. I hope you're enjoying it so far.

Love, H.


	10. Mazephobia

**_Ever since the night of the Cedric's death, Hermione had many dreams, especially about that terrifying maze. She never admitted it to anyone, but she would never go into them as a child. There was something terribly frightening about them.._**

* * *

Hermione and Draco got up and looked around. They had both been here before, she looked behind her, the stands were still there, now empty. She tried to walk out of the stadium like area, but an imaginary force field was keeping her from doing so.

Draco watched as she couldn't get through. His head turned towards the maze opening and started towards it.

Hermione looked at Malfoy, he was now setting off into the entrance to the maze. Running towards him, she grabbed his arm.

"What do you think you're doing Malfoy?"

"No Granger, I think that argument is better left for you to answer wouldn't you say so?"

She dropped his arm and looked at him in a confused manner.

"You should know that this little illusion, scenario, whatever you like to call it, wants us to go through this thing."

Hermione looked at the entrance again. "Yes, and the last time one of my friends went in there he hardly came out."

Draco was taken aback by this little statement. "Yeah? The last time I checked you were calling me a rapist. Now we're friends?"

Granger bit her lip and looked down at the ground, toeing it. "Malfoy, I just had a bad dream, it was accidental and I'm sorry."

He glared at her, wanting to tell her to take her apology and to shove it up her arse.

"Listen Granger, we are not friends, the little kiss in the courtyard, it was a mistake. Let's just get the hell out of this situation."

The words crashed against Hermione leaving her hurt and confused. She had apologized? What more did he want from her?

He turned and started off into the maze again, disappearing around the corner. Hermione watched him walk away, sighing, she decided to follow him through. What more could she do?

Draco felt like it was similar to every other maze? The only difference was that they weren't competing for some stupid trophy at the end of it. He knew Granger was beside him, he decided to just shrug it off and continue on. Soon the 24 hours would be up, and they both could go their separate ways.

About half way through, Hermione got a very weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, it felt like they were being watched. She stopped, moving her wand out of her pocket and held it in her hand.

"Malfoy. Do you hear that?"

He stopped walking, turning to the girl.

An animal like snarl caught his attention, but he didn't have time to look down before he was grabbed around the right ankle and flung to the ground. Hermione shrieked and ran over to him, mindful of the roots that now wrapped around him.

Devils snare.

Hermione had encountered this her first year. She moved her wand to his foot, "Lumos Solem!"

Draco felt the snares unwind around his foot and let him go. He scrambled to his feet, moving his ankle in circles, making sure he hadn't broken anything. Looking up at her he mumbled a small, "Thanks."

Nodding, she put her wand away. They continued on, no words were muttered. Hermione looked down at her watch, 2:19. Great, just enough time for things to get even more awkward between them.

A few more minutes flew by and Hermione was straining her one good ear for any more threatening sounds. A rustling behind her made her turn her back. A roar caught her by surprise when suddenly Victor Krum knocked her off her feet, charging after Draco.

Malfoy side-stepped him, reaching down he grabbed Granger's hand and yanked her back up. He started to dash back to the beginning of the maze, dragging the girl behind him.

"Stop Malfoy, we have to help him!"

"Granger, this is all a scenario! It's not really happening, remember that!"

Hermione shook herself free and bounded back to her friend.

'Fucking woman! Why couldn't she just listen to him just once!?'

She went back to the spot they had seen him, and she found him crouched on the ground, holding his head. Running over to him, she took his hand and held it against her cheek. "What's wrong Victor?"

He was rocking back and forth, whimpering as if in pain.

Draco turned the corner to see the two huddled together, the man's fingers stroking Granger's cheek. A feeling of jealousy ran through Draco but he pushed the absurd feeling down.

Hermione helped Krum off the ground. Malfoy noticed that his eyes looked very..odd.

"Granger! Get away from him!"

She turned to look at him questionably when a hand whipped out and grabbed her by the throat, slamming her into one of the maze walls. She gasped for air, clawing at his stubby fingers that wrapped themselves around her wind pipe.

"Incarcerous!" Draco screamed.

Victor was flung back from her, his body now wrapped in a thick rope.

Malfoy ran to Granger, his companion now gasping for air to return to her lungs. She clutched her throat, her pale skin now showing slight finger prints. Draco pulled her hands back and accessed the damage, dammit, she would definitely be sporting those bruises for a while.

Victor suddenly got free of the bindings, ripping through them like they were nothing, Hermione screamed and leapt to her feet. They bolted down the remaining maze together, wands drawn.

"Where are we going Malfoy?! There's nothing at the end of the maze!"

"Just keep running Granger!"

She heard the yelling of Krum behind her, one of his hexes narrowly missing her legs. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched as he raised his wand again, aiming towards Malfoy this time. She gasped and grabbed his wrist, steering him out of the way in time to duck the cruciatus. This slowed them down as the wacky momentum knocked them both off of their feet.

Hermione fell atop Draco, rolling off to climb to her feet again. Malfoy saw Krum stop and raise his wand at Granger, he pushed her down beneath him, shielding her. He ran at Krum, knocking him into one of the walls, his wand flying from his hands. A sharp elbow to his shoulder made his senses ring and he fell back. He felt a hand clutch his own and he was dashing off again.

She was tired of running, her chest burning with being pushed too hard.

Draco could tell Granger was slowing down, he grabbed her elbow and shoved her forward. Krum was a considerable distance behind them, the little altercation slowing him down.

They both saw the end and they burst through. At the end there was a small trophy looking object, Hermione was confused but she went over to it. Before she could think, the crashing caught her attention again. "Malfoy, grab it!"

He obeyed and they were both being flung from the maze. Hermione knew this sensation, her and her friends had done this to get to the Quidditch World Cup.

A Portkey. But why was there a Portkey?

Her and Draco got up and observed their surroundings. They were in a graveyard.

Hermione had her wand raised at the tomb they were now in front of. Tom Riddle, (1905-1943). She backed up, a feeling of unease settling in her bones. Harry had told her about this place, after the trophy had sent Cedric and him to a graveyard.

Oh no.

"Draco. We need to grab the Portkey again, we have to get out-"

Her words trailed away as a man walked out of a door below a tomb. Recognizing that disgusting face anywhere, she backed up in fear.

Peter Pettigrew.

Malfoy glared at the man, he knew he was, what he was. He was a vile creature of a man, and instantly he had his wand drawn directly at his heart.

"Mr. Malfoy, how delighted it is to see you again. I do have a question though?"

Hermione was hiding behind one of the tall tombstones, out of the way of Pettigrew.

"Why would you be here with a woman of dirty blood?"

Draco didn't respond to him, just kept his wand raised at the rat.

There was a voice that split through the air then. "Kill the boy, we need the mud-blood to reel the boy in."

A sadistic grin split the face of Peter Pettigrew and he had his wand raised, "Avada Kedavra!" Draco was faster though.

"Protego!" His shield bounced in front of his person, the killing curse hitting it and fading away.

"Expelliarmus!" The wand flew from the rats hands and landed a good distance away from him.

Hermione watched the whole thing, her eyes went to the hands of Peter Pettigrew who was holding a small person in his arms. It was Voldemort!

"Malfoy! We can not let him bring Voldemort back! We have to stop him!"

Pettigrew had gotten to his wand again, his gaze now on Hermione.

"Crucio!"

Granger leapt out of the way, the stone in front of her taking the full blow of the curse. "Incarcerous!"

Rope flew out of her wand and tangled itself around the neck of the fatter man, he was falling down, gasping for air. Granger was at Malfoys side in an instant. She looked down at her watch, 2:50, thank goodness, they could deflect him for another few minutes.

Suddenly, figures in black started to descend towards them.

Draco pulled the girl behind him, his eyes drifting from death eater to death eater, trying to find his father.

"Look what we have here." One of them said, his voice almost demonic behind the mask.

"Lucius, this is your son is it not?"

A tall man took his mask off, his long silver hair billowing in the breeze. His eyes landed on his son, confusion in their depths.

Hermione latched on to the back of his shirt, fear coursing through her.

"Draco. What are you doing here?"

"A bit of a mix up father, me and my acquaintance got turned around in the Room of Requirement."

"What acquaintance would that be Draco?"

Hermione whimpered as Draco pulled her out from behind him.

The death-eaters had their wands raised at her throat, she felt Malfoy stiffen beside her.

"What in the world are you doing with the mud-blood Draco?"

He didn't answer him, just continued to stare him down. "As I said before father, it was a mix-up, and I don't think it will do well for your plans to kill her right now."

The men lowered their wands slightly, contemplating his words.

"I see Draco, you brought her here for a bit of fun then." The other men smirked and Hermione felt dread fall in the pit of her belly.

Macnair pointed his wand at her, "Imperio."

Hermione felt a fog of euphoria wash over her as she started to walk over to the death-eaters. Draco tightened his grip on his wand, looking the men over once again. He felt his father watching him, still confused as to why she was here with him.

She was in front of Macnair now, he was running his dirty hands through her curly hair, "There's a good girl."

Draco knew what he had to do.

Hermione was still in her dream land when she felt a hand press against the back of her head. She heard laughter around her, slightly confused at what they could be giggling at.

Lucius Malfoy stood stalk still.

Draco raised his wand, just as Hermione was sinking to her knees.

"Stupefy!"

Macnair shot backward, his back hitting one of the tombstones. Draco ran over to her. He shook her shoulders, "Snap the fuck out of it Granger!"

Two other death-eaters were upon him now, raining curses on him. He heard Petrificus Totalus fly past him, another stunning hex not far behind it.

Hermione was mortified to realize what she was about to do.

"Reducto!" She screamed at one of the masked men that got too close. He shot back as well, far into the distance. A sinister laughing caught the teens attention, Peter Pettigrew was standing off to the side, his wand raised, he was walking in circle around the two, mumbling something. Hermione looked past him and realized that the Portkey had flown behind him. Something was wrong, looking down at her watch she realized it was 3:12, they were past time!

Suddenly, fire was spreading to them at an alarming rate. A large creature came out of the flames, an enormous dragon.

Hermione grabbed Draco and they bolted backwards, only to be met with another creature. A lion like animal that was pacing back and forth, it's fiery eyes watching their movements. Granger screamed and yelled, "Aguamenti!" The flames getting dowsed a little bit.

Taking a chance, she ran out through the tombstones, the fiery dragon not far behind.

Draco was behind her, yelling the water spell at the beast in the air.

"Accio Portkey!" Granger screamed. As the object flew at her hand, a burst of fire rained over them. Draco flung himself at Hermione just in time, shielding her and the trophy from the blast. They were being ripped through time again, screams rang out as the world spun them into another scenario.

Hermione tried to hang onto Draco, his now half-conscious form lulling over.

She awoke with a start, the smell of burning flesh hitting her nostrils. Draco was on his stomach, his back completely seared.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it. :)


	11. Ailurophobia

**_The Polyjuice potion had worked, but she had plucked the wrong hair off Bulstrode's robes. She sat in that stall all night, too embarrassed to go to the infirmary. What if someone saw her?_**

 ** _She was the walking cat girl. Oh god, what if was stuck this way FOREVER?_**

* * *

Hermione didn't touch his back. She stood up and looked around, they were in Hogwarts, at the infirmary. She looked around and noticed a younger her on one of the beds in the far back. She was still a cat.

Great.

She shoved the thought back as she raced over to Madame Pomfrey's cupboard and plucked up Essence of Dittany. Unstoppering it, she ran back over to Malfoy. She ripped his shirt the rest of the way off, his skin was smoldering, and she had to lean to the side to not be sick. Taking a big breath, she poured the solution over his injury, making him flinch so roughly that she almost had to hold him down.

The potion made quick work of the burn, sizzling over the skin that had broken. It was putting itself back into place, but one bottle would not be enough. Dittany was quite difficult to come by and the supply of it would be quite low. She prayed for just one more, the rest she could do on her own.

She was in luck.

She poured a little bit more over Malfoy's back, and he jerked again, this time not as roughly. Hermione noticed there were little cuts and slashes on the back of his arms, she ran her wand over them, muttering "Episkey," in a low, song-like tongue.

The potion was still sizzling on his skin, moving the torn areas back together. Hermione poured a little bit more onto his back, knowing that would be enough. She walked over to her bedside table, where she still laid as a cat and took the water. Kneeling down beside Draco, she tilted his head up and made him drink.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she muttered,moving Malfoy into a bed. The exhaustion settling over her, she looked at the clock on the wall, 4:13. Why had the last scenario kept them for two hours? She didn't understand it at all.

Before she fell into a sleep, she thought of her ear drum. Getting up, she saw a potion of Skele-Gro, oh god, did she really want to put herself through that pain? She heard a groaning coming from Malfoy and looked at him, he was starting to toss and turn in the bed, waking up. She decided she would give it a shot and picked up the potion, since it had been such a small area on her body, she figured a tad bit of potion would do.

It tasted like rat vomit. Hermione gagged and chugged back a glass of water before she threw back up the potion. An intense pain in her ear made her go weak in the knees and she decided that maybe she'd better lay down.

It didn't take long before she felt the closing of her ear, it was very uncomfortable to feel your ear drum regrow itself. Very unnatural. Hermione had slept for twenty minutes, and now she needed to check on Malfoy.

She tossed her feet over the bed and stood beside his back on the right side of him. He looked considerably better. He did need something else though, walking back to the cupboard, she picked up some Pepper-up potion. She knocked some back and then went over to Draco's water, pouring some in. He would feel close to himself in no time.

A mumble caught her attention.

"Gra-."

She went to the left side of the bed to find his eyes open, his gaze on the floor.

"Am I missing any body parts?" He whispered.

She smiled a little at the joke that he tried to crack. "No, your back was severely burned though. I fixed you right up."

Draco felt the cold breeze hit his back, where had his shirt gone?

"Did you remove all of my clothes Granger?"

She flushed furiously, "O-Of course not! The shirt was in my way and it was burned to pieces. I assure you everything else is still on your person." Draco quirked an eyebrow at her, enjoying the state his innocent question had put her in.

"Remind me not to do something so foolish ever again." He said to her, looking directly into her eyes.

Hermione bit her lip and sat down on the bed beside him. "Thank you, you jumped in front of me and got hit with the force of the fire. You didn't have to do that."

He just stared at her, his grey eyes distant.

"I did it for the trophy Granger, if it got destroyed we never would have gotten out of there, and then we would have been really screwed."

She wasn't quite sure how to take that statement from him. "Yes well, your father was there. He could have helped you out, no matter what happened to me."

He snorted, "Oh yeah, if I went back to the school without you, I would definitely be blamed for killing you or something equally as ridiculous. Miss Golden girl."

She was getting aggravated at his blatant push off of saving her life. "Just bugger it, bugger trying to thank you for doing something selfless, lay there in denial. I don't care."

Hermione folded her arms and stood up, walking away from him.

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes, he knew he hadn't only flung himself in front of that blast for that stupid Portkey. He knew that damnable woman was getting under his skin, but he knew she couldn't. Draco may not have gotten to choose his path in life, but he had a choice of who he drug down the dark path with him.

Granger was just an innocent, naive woman.

Hermione looked at the clock again. 4:47.

Draco turned and looked at her back, it was rigid, her shoulders tense. "Granger?"

"What?" She asked, not turning around.

"You need to fix your ear."

She nodded, "Already done. Anything else?"

He rolled his eyes and flung up his hands. "What is your bloody problem now?"

She pursed her lips, not saying anything.

Draco got out of the bed, his hand grabbing her shoulder, turning her around. Hermione gasped at the sight of his bare chest in her face. She backed up slightly, creating distance.

"I won't ask you again Granger." He said to her, his voice low.

"I don't understand why you care what my problem is." She said back to him, afraid of meeting his eyes. Her thoughts drifted back to their dancing, his eyes were intense like they were then.

"I care because I am the one who has to deal with the moaning and groaning for the next couple of hours!"

She shrugged him off, "Oh is that it? You are such a selfish piece of work, do you know that!"

Draco felt the air cause goose bumps on his skin and he ran his wand over his front, creating a shirt. There, that felt better.

"I'm selfish? You were singing a different tune not too long ago."

"Yeah, well, that's when I thought you were actually saving me to help me, not to just help yourself."

He rubbed his forehead with his hand, "What do you want me to say Granger? I saved you because my heart and soul would not call for your demise? That is utterly childish."

Sarcastically, she flung her hands up, "You know what? I regret ever following you into the Room of Requirement. You're right, I should have just left you alone. Harry was right about you. He's always been right!"

He glared at her. "I never proposed to be anything different Granger. The real problem here is that you're mad at yourself, and taking it out on me! It is no fault of mine that you live in dream land!"

She felt darkness fall over her features. "Oh yeah? At least I live there of my own choosing."

Draco growled at that comment. How very Slytherin of her.

Getting in her face, he breathed a strong, "Fuck you."

"Yeah, well the same to you." She said and shoved past him.

Draco was so angry, he picked up the glass beside his bed and chucked it across the room. Hermione flinched a little internally, but she didn't turn and give the little child the satisfaction of attention. His tantrum would be over soon.

Hermione didn't know why his delusional answer made her so angry. Was it because he was just being an arse, or was it because she was starting to care about him?

As more than a friend.

It was a lot to admit, even to herself. She had spent six years of her school life loathing Draco and the stupid things he did. Ever since she had met him he had treated her like dirt. It was sad really, he had so much potential to be so much more. She glanced over at him, he was still stewing. This little trip of theirs had opened her eyes to many things that were sitting right in the shadows, maybe she was delusional to? Had she ever stopped and actually looked at Draco Malfoy?

Never actually. Not even when Harry had accused him of being a death eater.

The clock chimed behind her and she moved her head, catching one last glance of the room around her.

* * *

Draco got up when they landed and walked away from her. Hermione did not mind and just decided to ignore him.

Hermione looked up, they had been here before. They were back at Malfoy Manor, but this time, it looked very different. Smoke was rising from the house, filling the backyard. Draco was confused, unable to move.

Hermione took her wand out, ready for a threat when an ear-splitting sound cut through the air. The mans face paled so much that Hermione was afraid he'd pass out on the spot.

"Mother!"

Before she could blink Draco was running towards the back door.

"Draco! Wait!" She bolted after him.

* * *

I thought I'd stop it there, save everything that is coming for the next chapter. Please review :)


	12. Thantophobia

**_Draco didn't want to think of the consequences if he failed this task. He knew his mother was already not sleeping, he heard her crying constantly. After he was told what he had to do, she had spent the day talking to him, and hugging him every second. His father as well seemed to be on edge._**

 ** _He knew the consequences if he failed..._**

* * *

Hermione was trying to keep up with him as he bolted into his house. The screams were getting louder as they descended into the sitting room. Draco stumbled through, seeing a small fire that had been set on the curtains. "Aguamenti!"

Granger saw the woman on the ground, her white and black hair was covered in what looked like blood. She knelt down and moved her up, cradling her head.

Draco dropped down beside her, taking her hand in his. "Mother! What's wrong? What's happened to the house!?"

Narcissa Malfoy looked at her son, her hand reaching up to tenderly touch his cheek. "Oh my boy, it was not your fault."

His grey eyes widened, his breathing exccelerating. "What wasn't my fault? Mother!"

A snarling came out of the shadows. Draco raised his wand and stood in front of the women.

Fenrir Greyback.

Draco hated this man, not only because he utterly terrified him, but because he was a sick, demented bastard. He had his wand raised to the beasts throat, ready for whatever.

Hermione felt for Narcissa's pulse point. It was small, but it was there.

"Your stupid mother tried to get in our way. She was wailing, crying, begging like the little fool she is, for your life."

Draco felt his blood run cold.

"Ah yes Draco, we all knew you didn't have the stomach to kill the man, just like your _pathetic_ father."

Malfoy's wand shook as he tried to keep his emotions together.

"And now I see you have a little mud-blood with you!" He moved his head back and howled. Licking his lips, his eyes landed on Hermione again. "The dark lord can say whatever he wands, but their blood tastes the best."

She slunk back, her throat tightening at his words.

"You won't fucking touch either of them." Draco whispered threateningly.

"Is that so?"

Him and Draco were walking circles around each other, both daring the other to make some sort of move. Hermione had her wand clutched so tightly her palms were starting to sweat. She moved her hands to Narcissa's armpits and started to drag her back from the two men.

As she watched them, she wondered what Greyback meant by 'the man.' Exactly what man was he talking about? And Draco had to...kill him? The thought hit her stomach like a brick, but there was no time to think about that right now.

Draco looked formidable in the light of the fire, Hermione could feel his magic crackle off of him. The only time that had happened was when she was in the Department of Mysteries with Harry as he was being possessed by Voldemort.

"Crucio!" Greyback screamed, knocking Draco off of his feet.

"Malfoy!" She yelled.

He lay on the ground writhing with pain.

Hermione raised her wand, "Stupefy!"

Blocking it, he turned to her, "You're next little mud-blood."

Draco was on his feet by now, firing stunning curses left and right, one caught Greyback in the ear, making him cry out.

Malfoy was bending low, grabbing his mother, pulling her into his arms to carry her out.

Hermione suddenly heard a crack as the fire got out of control again. Greyback had his wand raised, firing something at the sky.

"Morsmordre!"

Hermione watched in horror as black objects in the sky were descending down to them. No, not more death-eaters!

"Come on!" Draco screamed.

Pieces of the house were laying everywhere. They stumbled, Draco losing his balance, sending he and his mother falling over the threshold. Hermione grabbed Narcissa and was helping her up when an explosion from the living room caught her attention.

The older woman stood and watched the house start falling apart around her.

"Mother! We have to get out of here!"

A crazy laugh broke through the air, making Hermione's teeth grit together, she would recognize that laughter anywhere.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

She was in front of them suddenly, in Narcissa's face.

"Oh dear sister, how nice to see you again. Came to save your little baby did you?"

She had her wand raised, then descended it down towards the floor. Narcissa screamed in pain as her knees buckled and she was made to kneel down.

"You bitch! Don't you touch her!" Draco screamed at her, throwing himself at the crazy witch.

"Poor Drakey, it must be terrible to stand there and watch your mother die." Her eyes were bright and crazy. "Ohhhh, who's this?" She ran the tip of her wand over Hermione's shoulders, moving about her.

Granger flinched.

"I know who this is. It's Potter's little bookworm. Aren't you dear?"

Hermione didn't answer, big mistake. Bellatrix raised her wand and slashed it through the air, making a sword like incision across Hermione's cheek. She screamed out, holding the now injured part of her face.

"When a superior asks you a question, you answer, you ungrateful little girl."

The house was starting to fall apart now. Draco saw his mother lying on the ground, his heart desperate to get to her.

Hermione was still holding her face, but she had an idea. Bellatrix wouldn't expect anything from her, thinking she was to badly injured. In an instant, she had her wand raised, "Stupefy!" She screamed, sending the witch through one of the walls.

Draco looked at her, blood dripping down her cheek, wanting to kiss her again.

Swooping down, she grabbed one of Narcissa's arms and put it around her shoulders again, hoisting her off the ground.

Shouts and screams were starting to get closer to them as they tried to get out of the house. Another shrill scream met their ears, looks like Bellatrix had gotten out of the wall. Narcissa was choking on smoke, now a dead weight for them.

"Draco, stop." She said, grabbing his shoulder.

"No." He said, pressing on.

A noise overhead made Hermione's head whip up. A beam was crackling and suddenly it fell. They were not quick enough to move and it was suddenly falling on top of them.

Hermione went sprawling, narrowly missing it, her foot was unlucky as it was caught under a decoration that had fallen with the beam.

Draco stood up choking on the smoke, his fingers bloody.

"Malfoy, y-your hand." Granger said, standing up as well.

"Mother!?" He screamed, moving wood out of the way. "Mother?!"

Hermione saw Narcissa laying before them, the beam had fallen right on top of her. She fought tears as she leaned down and checked her pulse. Draco was holding her hand, his hands shaking.

"Come on mother, you have to get up! We've got to get out of here!"

"Draco. She's gone. There's nothing we can do." Hermione said to him.

He looked at her like she was a foreign object. "No. You're mistaken. She's fine." She started to shake her shoulders, trying to wake her up. "Come on mother, we don't have time for this. We've got to go."

Hermione watched as the man broke in front of her, she tried to take one of his hands to pull him off the ground. The yelling was right beside them now. She took his hand again and pulled him up.

"We've got to get out of here Malfoy!"

He wasn't getting up.

Hermione pulled him again, managing to budge him this time. She was running, jumping over the fallen house that lay out before her.

"Stop Granger, we can't leave my mother behind!"

She didn't respond as she heard cackling behind them.

Bellatrix.

"Oh there they go, the rats are fleeing! Time to trap them!"

A crash to the left of Hermione made her move to the right. The door in front of her had burst into flames, and the only thing she could do was burst through it. She tucked and rolled, Malfoy not far behind her. Surprisingly, none of the fire had touched her skin.

The laughing was still behind them.

"Draco. Come on!" Hermione was now sprinting into the trees, trying to dodge curses that Lestrange was still firing. The man was running beside her, panting in unison with her.

She was running behind them, firing curses and making things explode, trying to slow them down.

"Your cowardly mother's dead boy! Dead! Dead! DEAD!"

Hermione suddenly felt the air grow rough around them as they were pulled up and flung into gravity. The laughs went with them as Bellatrix kept repeating her sentence like it was some kind of song.

 _"Dead."_

 _"Your fault!"_

When Hermione came to she heard sobbing in her ear. Draco was laying in the middle of Hagrids yard, crying uncontrollably. Hermione felt a terrible ache in her foot, unable to move it.

He suddenly jumped up from the ground, smashing his fist into one of the trees beside him. Hermione gasped and moved herself onto her knees. His hands were fisted in his platinum hair, the blood now coating some of the strands. He was still sobbing, pacing back and forth, mumbling "Mother," over and over again.

He was squatting down, rocking back and forth on his heals, knocking himself in the temple, pulling his hair.

"Draco. Stop...please." Hermione was close to tears herself, never having seen a breakdown before. The man would not listen though, he kept mumbling, his sobs wracking his form.

"It wasn't real. Draco, look at me. It was not real."

He shook his head and moved his eyes back down.

Hermione took his face in her hands and looked deep into his eyes. "Draco." She started, tears blossoming and overflowing down her cheeks, stinging the cut that now adorned her own face. His trembling fingers came up and touched her injury, his palm cupping her face.

"It was not real. Do you hear me? She's still alive." His grey eyes still looked wild, but he was starting to settle down. "Remember, the room preys on our fears. He nodded and she smiled at him, pulling him into her arms finally, she felt him shove his nose in the crook of her neck, breathing her in, his form still shaking slightly.

She ran her hands over his back, patting him.

A few minutes went by and he pulled away. He wiped his eyes and stood up, his mask back in place again. He fixed his shirt and moved his hair out of his eyes. Taking his wand, he put a cleaning charm on himself.

Hermione had her eyes on her foot. It was slightly swollen, jeez, how did she manage to injure herself in almost all the places they've been? She felt like some kind of damsel in distress.

Draco was staring down at his broken knuckle, his finger now sticking out awkwardly. A moan of pain cast his eyes downward, Granger was holding her foot.

He sat across from her, his eyes catching the scratch across her cheek again. His hand grasped her chin lightly and he pulled up his wand, "Episkey," he murmured. It faded away and she touched it lightly, feeling nothing but flesh there.

"Thank you Draco." She said to him.

He nodded and looked at her foot now. "Geez Granger, your foot has been put through enough don't you think?"

She blushed and nodded.

Draco ran his wand over the pained area, murmuring the same spell that he had used in the chamber of secrets. Little bandages darted out, wrapping themselves around her swollen appendage.

* * *

Hagrids hut loomed over them.

"I wonder why the room brought us here?" Hermione asked aloud.

"I know why it has." Draco started, touching the door knob.

He turned to her, his expression almost blank. "Remember that stupid Hipogriff in third year? The one who broke my arm?"

Hermione nodded, a sly smile tugging at her lips, that was a good year.

He watched her facial expression change and he rolled his eyes, "Yes Granger, the same year where you caught me off guard and punched me in my perfect nose."

She rolled her eyes this time, same arrogant Malfoy.

"Well after that, I had some, uh, nightmares. As you said about your dancing, it was mainly a fleeting fear. It didn't stay long, but I guess that doesn't really matter in here now does it." It was an exclamation more than a question and Hermione caught the undertone of annoyance.

"Just remember Malfoy, this isn't a memory, so he can see us."

"I"m sure you can talk your way out of it Granger. He loves you and the other two dolts."

She watched as Malfoy turned towards the door again, he seemed like he was struggling, his hand shaking.

There was no-one in the hut, not even Fang, who was always moping in the corner. Hermione shut the door behind her and watched as Malfoy sat down, holding his injured fingers.

Looking at her watch, it read, 6:13. They had enough time to relax and rest. She sat at the table opposite Draco and set her head down, feeling the onslaught of a headache.

* * *

Alright everybody, things are going to start slowing down a little bit after this. I hope you've enjoyed it so far. Thanks for reading!

Love, H.


	13. Truth pt1

" _ **You're gonna regret this, stupid bloody chicken," he whimpered as Hagrid carried him off to the infirmary. His arm was on fire, making his head lull to the side, the last thing he saw was darkness.**_

* * *

Hermione had managed to find some tea, after digging through the entire hut. It was rather bland, but it would do. Draco turned his nose up at it for a second before she was scolding him, telling him to not be such a bloody brat.

She checked her watch again, 6:35; it seemed like to her that the scenarios that were quiet and didn't require them to almost get one of their limbs blown off were always the ones to go by quickly.

"Let me see your hand." She said to him, putting her cracked cup down, extending hers to him.

"I'm alright Granger."

"No, you're not. I saw your hand get crushed by that beam that fell. Not to mention, you smashed it into a tree. Now _let_ me see it." She demanded this time.

Rolling his eyes he slammed it on the table before her.

Almost gasping, she caringly touched the one finger that was sticking out awkwardly.

"Oh Malfoy, I d-don't know if I can fix this. It's completely broken. We'll need Skele-Gro to set it back in place." He shrugged at her, taking his hand and placing it back in his lap.

"I don't use that hand anyway."

Hermione just stared at him, wondering why he didn't care. "It doesn't matter, that can completely throw off the hands function, it can make it very difficult to use, even become unu-."

"Granger. He interrupter her, "Please, save me your lectures."

She stopped talking, looking into his face again. He looked exhausted, and haunted. No doubt his thoughts were still on what had just happened with his mother. She decided, for now, to just leave his hand ordeal alone, but when they got out of here, it would definitely need to be looked at.

A chime hit her ears not long after that, but she was stunned to feel no darkness loom over her, or the ground slip away. She and Draco continued to sit in their chairs, the air soft and crisp around them.

"We didn't get transitioned," she said to him.

He nodded, his eyes looking out the window.

"Thank you." He mumbled, eyes still looking everywhere but at her.

"For what?"

"Helping me try to get my mother to safety, and holding off Bellatrix. You had no reason to help, but you did anyway." His eyes finally found her, they still looked lost.

"It was the right thing to do." She said to him, stunned slightly at his admission.

"I just can't get it out of my mind…" He whispered. His hands went to his hair again, "Can't get her face out of my head. Her unblinking eyes. All because of me.."

He stood up, putting his forehead in his hand.

"Draco. It wasn't real."

"No. It was real. It _could_ be real. You said it yourself; it's all real in some way or another."

She stood up and stood beside him at the window. Her hand went out and touched his shoulder, he didn't move to shrug it off, just let it sit there. He eyes were shut now, his face tensed.

Hermione timidly leaned her head against his arm, trying to illicit her own strength to him. He stiffened, but still did not move. After a few more moments of silence, she moved back from him.

"Malfoy. I have a question?"

He looked at her.

"Fenrir Greyback, he said something about a man.."

He just continued to look at her, his gaze unwavering. A bad feeling started to unravel in the pit of her stomach and she had to look away from him.

Moving towards her, he had a pained expression on his face.

"H-Hermione.."

It was the first time he had _ever_ said her name, and her heart felt like it had been squeezed. There was something though, something he was _hiding._

"Who is it?" She asked, quiet, her voice tight, struggling.

He was closer to her now; he didn't know what he was planning to do. For some reason, he just wanted to tell _someone,_ just for one second, wanted to feel the burden lift off of his shoulders. Why Granger though? Maybe because she had proven that he could trust her, after what he saw with his mother, he just knew that the truth had to come out. He also knew though, when he told her that she would hate him all the more. Their little admissions of comfort, of _closeness_ would be shattered and she would be gone from him.

"Dumbledore." He said just as tightly, the word catching in his throat.

Hermione saw little black specks in her vision and she had to clutch the table just to keep upright. She turned, her hand going to her hair to push the strands that had fallen in her face. She was trembling, her lower lip quivering. So, Katie Bell, that necklace had been a mistake. It had been meant for Professor Dumbledore all along.

Draco watched her shoulders tremble, her back now to him. What else had he expected? Forgiveness? Did he deserve that?

He extended his hand to touch her shoulder, trying to get her attention again.

Hermione jumped when he touched her. She flinched back, not ready to face him at the moment.

He hated how that involuntary movement made him feel. Growling, he turned her around, stunned to see the tears overflowing down her face. She looked up at him, her eyes showing utter betrayal.

"Granger. I didn't _ask_ for this. You have to know that."

She bit her lip, and nodded. It took a few more seconds to pull herself back together, but when she did she sat down at the table, feeling drained..

"Draco..what are you going to do?"

He sat across from her, taking her hand. He wasn't sure what came over him, he just felt like he had to make her understand, just a little bit.

"Hermione. This is life and death, not only mine, but my families. What would _you_ do?"

She fidgeted, glancing at the hold he had on her now. "I honestly don't know how to answer that," she whispered to him.

For some reason, her answer made him angry. He flung her hand away from him and stood up. "You mean to tell me that if your parent's _lives_ were on the line, you don't know what you'd do?! You know what I think of that, I think it's utter _shit!"_

"It's human nature to _protect_ our family! Try to see outside the bloody box you naïve little _fool!"_

Draco picked up a piece of dishware and tossed it across the room, not able to control his temper anymore.

Hermione stood and glowered at him, her own temper grazing the surface. She slammed her hand down on the wood, catching his attention.

"You think I don't _know_ how you feel!? You don't think I know how it feels to _worry_ what this upcoming war could bring to my own family!"

His grey eyes watched her.

"You think I don't _UNDERSTAND?"_ Tears were rolling down her cheeks again, but this time out of fury. "The pain you feel, the _fear_ , you are not alone Malfoy!"

"Yes, but if you fail, you don't get to watch your parents be murdered in front of you Granger. Everything I do, everything I've _**done**_ …" He stopped, his voice cracking. Turning around, he couldn't face her, his emotions slipping through…again.

"You think I'm _proud_?" He finished, a loan tear slipping out.

She slid down into the chair, the floor feeling as if it wouldn't hold her. She knew though, deep down in her soul, that he had no choice..

 _Never had a choice._

The revelation hit her roughly and she felt her soul shatter. She had always had the privilege of who she wanted to be, and who to fight for. He had been brought up in hatred, bigotry, and with the dark arts littered all around him. She knew why he had looked so lost and ill the entire year. With an overwhelming finality she stood up and went to him.

"Some of us," she whispered, "Some of us don't have a choice."

He looked at her, grey eyes swimming in misery.

Reaching his hand out, he touched her cheek. When had he grown to feel so familiarized looking in those brown eyes? Her facial expressions, the little quirks when she was thinking. Her humility, fears, strengths, and passion. Beginning this little adventure, he never thought in a million decades that he would be _close_ to this muggle born. His thumb swept down her smooth skin, to run over her top lip.

Hermione knew this would probably end badly. Whatever was happening to the room, it would eventually end and they would be thrown back to reality. How would she explain to her friends what transpired between her and Malfoy? How could she explain that in the instances where he wasn't looking, she saw the many emotions he never showed anyone? How would she explain his bravery, his gentleness towards her? They wouldn't understand, could _never_ understand.

And now, his thumb was on her mouth, making her blush. She pursed her lips, inviting him slightly.

Draco saw this movement and moved forward, claiming her mouth with his.

He was so soft and gentle; his lips warm as they slid over hers. After a few moments, she pulled away, looking up into his eyes again. She stepped into his chest and pulled her arms around him, finding his warmth. His nose pressed against the crown of her head, he inhaled and just savored the one _innocent_ moment that he thought he'd never have again.

He relished in it.

* * *

I hope you liked it, a little shorter, but longer chapters to come. Review if you like.

Love, H.


	14. Truth pt2

**_She absolutely hated flying. When her and Harry had broken Sirius out of his cell, they had flown away on Buckbeak, when he dipped down for a landing, she thought she'd die. It was the feeling of having absolutely no control that she hated.._**

 ** _Harry had picked on her for it from that day on.._**

* * *

The scenario had ended up changing as soon as 8:00 hit. Hermione had climbed off the ground to realize that she and Draco were lying in the middle of the Quidditch pitch. She climbed to her feet, only seeing two lone brooms sprawled out before them.

Malfoy walked to them, they were relatively plain brooms and he grabbed the one off the ground.

"Come on Granger. Let's go flying, there's nothing else to do while we wait to be flung into some other destination."

She dusted the dirt off of her skirt and turned around, "I don't think so."

He raised an eyebrow, "Scared huh? No wonder why we're here. I know for certain that _I'm_ not the frightened one."

She tightened her mouth, but dodged the question, continuing to walk away from him. Draco smirked and flew off the ground, whizzing ahead of her, blocking her from going any further.

"Where's that Gryffindor courage?" He remarked.

She raised her head up, crossing her arms. "I _have_ courage, I just don't like flying, and I've _never_ liked flying."

"You didn't have an issue with it in the Room of Requirement. With _me_." He winked at her, his eyes mischievous.

"T-That was completely different, we were in danger and yes, I did have an issue with it, my hands were clutching that broom so hard, I'm surprised it didn't shred them. It didn't help that we were almost slammed into a wall."

He rolled his eyes and landed beside her.

"Granger." He looked into her eyes, taking her hand, "Hermione. Come and fly with me."

She hated how he did that to her. Just by saying her name he made her knees wobble.

"I-I…I.." The words were stuck in her throat as he climbed on the broom again, helping her onto the back. She took a breath, biting her lip, gathering that infamous courage.

He lifted off the ground gently, placing her hands around his back, giving her better leverage.

"Please. Just go slow." She begged him, shoving her face into his back.

He took off a little bit, lifting them above the stands. Hermione whimpered and clung onto him tighter. All she could see was herself falling off the broom and smashing into the ground, dying on impact. She felt Draco's fingers graze hers, producing a small smile from her.

Draco felt absolutely free flying. He used to sneak out of Hogwarts and fly over the Great Lake; it was just so nice to let go of all his troubles, even for the briefest of moments. He knew exactly where he was going to take her.

It was approaching nightfall as he descended up towards the top of Hogwarts.

Hermione had opened her eyes, feeling them stop. She lifted her head up and looked around. Oh god, they were on top of a roof! "Draco! What are you doing? We can't stay up here!"

He chuckled and set his feet down on top of one of the long windows that adorned the top of the clock tower. "Granger. Just trust me would you?"

Her hand shot out for his and he lifted her off the broom stick, putting her down, he noticed she was rather pale. "Oh, don't tell me you don't like heights either."

She bit her lip and pushed her back so far into the wall, he was afraid she'd become one of the bricks. Grabbing the broom from the air, he nestled it firmly beside him. Hermione scooched closer to his side, he eyes drifted along the walls, then off the sides, oh merlin…

"Malfoy. If we fall, and I die, I will be sure to come back as a ghost, and haunt you forever. And believe me; my nagging will keep you awake at night!"

He chuckled and patted her hair.

After a few moments, Hermione started to get a little more comfortable. Looking up, she suddenly noticed the clouds. Gasping, she was stunned at the beauty of them. All the different shapes, sizes, they fell across each other in thick lines; it looked to her like winter clouds. They looked so close, almost in reaching distance. She nudged Malfoy, who was too busy looking at the wide smile that adorned her features. He knew what she was seeing; he had seen them many times before.

"Draco." She said, turning to him.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you so much for bringing me up here."

He stared at her, his grey eyes gentle. Her heart started to hammer and she turned away, tucking her hair behind her ear again. She could not quite kick that nervous habit.

Hermione looked down at her watch, 8:30. She sighed; she never wanted this moment to end.

Draco was looking at the sky again, when suddenly, a thought popped up in his mind. "Granger, I forgot to tell you something."

Hermione flinched, not sure if she wanted to know right in this moment.

"When we were at my house, the first time around, I thought I saw Dumbledore."

She looked at him, a questionable expression on her features.

"I was looking out into the woods, and I could have sworn I saw him. It was just a split second, but he was there, I know it."

She pondered this for a moment, could there be a chance that Professor Dumbledore knew where they were and what was going on? No. If he had, wouldn't he have done something by now to help them?

"That's strange." Hermione didn't know what to make of this, or what they should do.

Wait.

"Draco. This room responds to our thoughts right? And lately it's been responding to our fears, well, what if we think about Professor Dumbledore, maybe it'll bring us there and he can answer some questions?"

He shrugged and contemplated this, it _could_ work.

"What if it brings us to an _unfavorable_ situation with him?" He asked her, his voice now serious.

Hermione just stared straight ahead.

"I-I don't know." She replied.

'Well,' he thought, 'that answers that.'

Hermione looked at him, he was now aloof again. She wouldn't let him be, she wouldn't let him go back to that dark place. Reaching out, she lightly clutched his left hand, folding her fingers around it. He stiffened somewhat, but didn't pull away.

"We really should get this looked at as soon as possible," she told him, gingerly stroking the broken digit.

Time was up.

The chime was loud, reverberating through Hermione's body.

Oblivion overtook them and then they were being pulled back into nothingness. The last thing Hermione saw was the white, billowy clouds above her, before everything went black.

* * *

A chuckling woke her up. She hazily opened her eyes, a bright light from a room making it difficult. Turning onto her back, she noticed pictures lining walls around her. She knew this place, had been here many times before.

"Miss Granger." A familiar voice said.

She grunted and sat up, that was a bad trip, she felt like she had spun around a million times and tried to walk. She looked to the side of her and noticed that she was alone. Where was Malfoy?

"D-Draco?" She mumbled, her hand going to the empty place where he was supposed to be.

"Here. I'm here." A hand reached down and grabbed her gently around the elbow, hauling her to her feet. She was still extremely dizzy and leaned against him for support. He steered her to a chair, helping her into it.

"Where are we?" She asked, still not fully adjusting.

"Dumbledore." Draco said.

She gasped and looked in front of her, there sat the man, a beaming light adorning his features.

"It's good to see you two, and on such good terms."

Hermione blushed and nodded her head. Draco didn't say anything however, his eyes far away again.

"Sir. Draco and I have found ourselves in quite the…predicament. We both went into the Room of Requirement and now we're being flung from scenario to scenario. Most of them based on our fears."

There was that same twinkle in his eyes. It irked Malfoy, had he really known about this?

"Did you know about it?" He asked him, anger close to emerging.

Dumbledore moved his hand to his candy, plucking some up and laying them in front of the teens. "Lemon drop?"

Grey eyes looked down at the candy sharply, the anger winning.

"This is _not_ a game. The things we've been put through, the _things_ we've had to do." He grit through his teeth. Hermione had her hand on his elbow, but he shook it off.

"I don't know what you're playing at, but it's not remotely close to being funny."

Dumbledore sighed and nodded. "Mr. Malfoy, I did not know of your dilemma until recently, there's nothing I can do. This is a lesson, a lesson you must learn on your own. For both of you."

Silence.

"This is a time of war Mr. Malfoy, and I do believe that you _and_ Miss Granger know what I'm referring to now. Terrible things are coming for both sides I'm afraid. It's what we _do_ that gets us through the next moment."

Malfoy sucked in a breath. What did he mean, _knew_ what he was referring to? Did he know about his task? From experience, he wouldn't doubt it. The old man always had that stupid smile across his lips. It was always like he was saying, 'I know something you don't know.'

Dumbledore stood up and conjured up some tea. He laid out cups before them and poured the liquid into them. "I know this is difficult for the both of you. And understanding it is probably even more challenging, I can hardly comprehend it myself."

"Sir," Hermione spoke up, still feeling the anger of Draco escalate higher.

"Has this ever happened before?"

He took a sip of his tea, looking thoughtful for a moment, mulling over her question. "I've never encountered this problem before Miss Granger. The room of requirement has always been there for students, for whatever they've needed it for. This is the first time, according to my memory, that this has ever been a problem."

"It's just that, whatever happens in these destinations that we go to, they really happen to us. And what we've seen…" She stopped for a second, her eyes cutting to Draco.

"I'm fully aware of what you've been through." The old man answered.

The young man glowered at him, "And yet, you still sit there as if it's the most natural thing in the world. You're barmy."

Hermione gasped at what he had just said to their Headmaster. "Draco," she warned him, glaring.

His own furious expression shot to her now, "Don't talk to me like you're my _fucking_ mother Granger." She drew back, stunned at his aggravation towards her.

"Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore said, his eyes losing a little bit of their twinkle. "You've come a long way; don't irrationally lash out on those who show concern for you."

An eerie silence set over the room and Hermione knew that the crackle she felt beside her was from the utter rage that flowed off Draco Malfoy. She wanted to disappear, she wanted to tell him to stop acting immature, but most of all she wanted to pull him into her arms.

His back was ramrod straight, his mouth pinched, eyes narrowed into slits.

"Let me tell you _headmaster."_ He breathed, the words low, but thick like iron. "I had to watch my _mother_ die right in front of my eyes. Had to hold her hand as she breathed her last breath. Then, before that, I had to watch as a man, a _grown_ man tried to strangle a child." At this point, he was fully out of his chair, towering over the older wizard who was now looking up at him.

"And what, Mr. Malfoy, do these things have in common with each other?" He asked him, not intimidated in the least.

Draco didn't say anything, his nostrils flaring.

"They have _**you**_ in common."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"This adventure, excursion, _trip_ is a _lesson_." He tapped his fingers together, the twinkle returning. His blue eyes now softened, and he lowered his hands back onto the desk.

"Mr. Malfoy, you are not an _evil_ person, how many times this year have you thought that?"

Hermione felt her throat thicken and looked off to the side, seeing Malfoy stiffen at his question.

"Stop it." Draco said, turning away.

Dumbledore faltered, but continued on.

"I once knew a lad who made all the wrong decisions. He turned himself into something evil because that's what he _wanted_. He valued power, wealth, and _fear_ above all else. He was consumed, buried under the darkness of it all. I don't say this all the time, because I like to find the light in everyone… but _he_ was and _is_ truly evil. You, Draco Malfoy, are nothing like him. You have a choice now my boy…"

Hermione wiped the tears that were running down her cheeks.

Draco however, was mulling over the words. He knew…knew what he wanted to do, but he also knew what he _must_ do.

Turning back around, he looked into the face of the World's greatest wizard.

"I understand the path that I've chosen, or _has_ been chosen for me. I understand the consequences, and I know that I have people that I need to look out for and protect. It isn't me simply not wanting to join the order, or me being too wrapped up in my bigotry and hatred towards _Potter_. It's me simply choosing to stay on this side because…I don't want to watch the people I care for die."

Hermione was staring up at him, her lips quivering, trying her hardest to hold back the sob that was making its way up her throat. She never thought she'd see the day that she heard Draco Malfoy say something admirable.

Dumbledore just looked at him, the twinkle in his eye apparent again. "Mr. Malfoy, I understand."

Hermione raised her hand, and touched Draco's, he looked down at her, and something in his chest stirred. When he had said that he had people that needed his protection, not only from the dark lord, but from him, he had meant her to some extent. He cursed himself for getting swept up into those brown eyes of hers again, the understanding laced with the sorrow.

He had never meant to come to care for her. It would lead both of them nowhere, nowhere but a path of destruction, and who knew what else. The mark on his arm gave a slight burn, drawing his attention downwards. The flinch was involuntary, he didn't think he'd ever get used to the ache or _burn_ the mark would give off when he was being summoned. Draco looked up to Dumbledore, panic evident on his face. He was being summoned? How could he get there?

The chime this time was loud and disconcerting. It echoed throughout his skull and he leaned down, covering his ears. Sounds of crazed laughter filled his brain, and then a small voice that he recognized as Grangers. All the sounds smashed together, making him feel utterly bonkers. He screamed, still seeing the darkness surround his form, there was nothing. There was no-one.

He opened his eyes some time later, finding himself sprawled out, the abyss still looming over him.

Granger was gone, he felt it, he didn't even have to look over.

There was nothing.

There was no-one.

The darkness was his only ally, only company.

And his personal hell.

* * *

R&R


	15. Achluophobia

I apologize it took me so long to update.

Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me.

* * *

Hermione was walking through the darkness, straining her ears for any sound of movement. There was nothing but blackness, she didn't like it at all. She felt around for her wand, and found it sticking out of her band that held up her skirt.

"Lumos," she whispered.

She glanced up and saw pictures floating around her. They were of friends, family, stills of her entire life. They were enchanted like the portraits at Hogwarts. It was odd though, they seemed to be talking to her in some form or other. There was a small sound that caught her attention, it was one of the pictures trying to speak to her.

"Hermione." One called, it was of Harry, and he was looking at her in shock.

"Harry!" She cried, clutching the frame. He stared at her, his green eyes confused.

"You've been gone Hermione. You just...disappeared."

She nodded vigorously, "Y-Yes, I'm stuck in the Room of Requirement! With Dr-er, Malfoy!" She caught herself before she said his first name, it would alert her friend to something strange going on.

"Where's Ron?" She asked.

"Not here. He's been sulking, worried sick."

Hermione looked around at the darkness, hoping faintly to see her friends come out and give her a hug. She turned back to Harry, tears clouding her vision.

"I-Is this real?" She asked him, her voice quivering.

"I'm not sure Hermione, does it feel real?"

* * *

Draco had his wand held up, there was absolutely no-one in this room with him. He wondered where Granger had gone, and if she was okay.

A murmuring made him whip around, holding his light out in front of him. He suddenly caught sight of the various pictures that littered the wall, how had he not noticed them before? Some were of his parents, some were of him when he was little.

He came upon one, it was of him and his parents. They all wore stern expressions, not even bothering to smile. He looked at his father, it was always easy for him to frown. Then, he went to his mother, at one point she had had so much life, she smiled all the time. And then, something changed. He figured it was when the Dark Lord had stepped back into the picture, which had been about a year before his first year at Hogwarts. After that, she slept a lot, and never left the house. She tried to keep up appearances, just to keep the rumors from spreading, but that was really it.

Draco knew his parents had had a relatively decent marriage, especially in their earlier years. But, now, it was rather frigid. Lucius was now teetering on the edge of madness, and Narcissa on the edge of depression. All there was now was him, and what he had to do to pull his family back into the Dark Lord's good graces. The picture of them hardly moved at all, he looked down at the smaller version of himself. Draco stepped back, his brow furrowing. All the innocence in Draco's face seemed washed away, drained out of him. This picture had been taken after his second year at Hogwarts.

Sighing, he didn't want to look anymore. He had lived it, he didn't need to reminisce on that area of his life.

* * *

Hermione was touching the frame that Harry was in, he was still talking to her.

"What's happened to you?" He mumbled, crossing his arms.

"What do you mean exactly?" She questioned him, getting slightly nervous.

"I mean, why are you stuck in the Room of Requirement? Why'd you want to go in there?"

Hermione bit her lip and shrugged. The portrait snorted, rolling his eyes. "Hermione, I've known you for about six years now, I know when something is eating at you, and I also know when you're lying."

"Git." She whispered.

"So, spill it. What's wrong? Has Malfoy harmed you at all? I swear, if he ha-"

"He hasn't done anything," she interrupted him.

Silence.

He must have seen the expression cross her face when he mentioned Malfoy, must have seen the uncertainty, and the confusion.

"Hermione." He whispered this time, concern in his tone. She looked up at him, his green eyes were surveying her, worry creased in his brow.

"Tell me what's happened."

* * *

Draco trailed his wand a long the walls of pictures, most of them were of his family, generations of the Malfoys. They all wore expressions of smugness, or arrogance. God, is that how he looked?

There was one though, one that made him stop. Shockingly, it wasn't of his family or his friends.

It was of Hermione Granger.

It was her in the library, flipping through a book. She looked to be studying profusely for something. It must have been this year because she looked the exact same. He held his wand up to the moving photo, and traced his finger over where she sat. He caught himself and pulled his finger away, annoyed at his own reaction. The Hermione in the photo looked up at him, and suddenly smiled.

She waved at him, that ear splitting smile still across her face. But, somehow, there was something else in her features. She suddenly stopped waving, putting her hand down on the table sadly and continued to study by herself. Why was she always studying by herself?

He had always wondered that. Sometimes, in the great hall, he would look across the way and see her all alone, either with her head stuck in a book, or jotting down information on some piece of parchment.

Draco figured she got the grades, and the two idiots reaped the benefits by cheating off of her. She hardly said no to her friends, he had noticed that to. Hm, maybe they should re-name her the Gryffindor push-over. It was an automatic reaction,it made him quite angry to think that someone was making a fool of her.

* * *

Hermione wrung her hands, trying her best to put her feelings into words.

"I followed Malfoy in here, after we got into the argument in the Great Hall. I d-didn't mean to honestly, and when I got there, he kind of took it as me prying and tried to disarm me."

"He did wh-"

She cut him off again, "Oh Harry, who cares about that now, I'm fine aren't I?"

He shrugged and waited on her to continue, "I'm just saying Hermione, I can fire off a few hexes and curses, if you want me to."

She sent him a glare, "I'm quite capable of taking care of myself Harry."

Hermione could do this, she could tell a portrait what she was thinking and feeling, even if it was her best friend who loathed the man who she had slight feelings for.

"Come on," he goaded her.

"It's Malfoy." She said to him, turning her head up finally.

* * *

Draco saw one picture that was in the line call out to him.

It was Blaise Zabini.

"Oy, Malfoy, over here!"

He raised an eyebrow and lit up the photo of his friend. Blaise was sitting in the common room, his feet propped up on one of the random tables, a book open on his lap. He saw Pansy in the background, screeching at one of her friends.

"Where you at?" He questioned Draco.

"Room of Requirement." He answered, noticing people walking through the frame.

He chuckled, "Why are you in there?"

"The hell if I know," Draco said.

"Are you alone?"

"No. Granger and I got into a fight before she followed me in here." He said to him, looking around through the darkness again, expecting said woman to pop up beside him.

Zabini burst out laughing, "Awh tough luck chap. The mud-blood driving you barmy yet?"

For some reason, hearing that word sent a weird chill to Draco's chest. He couldn't help the rush of anger that ran through his veins at Blaise insulting her. But, it was just so natural for the both of them.

"Actually, no. She's come in handy."

The darker wizard smirked, "I'm sure she has."

Malfoy didn't find that humorous, "I didn't mean like that you stupid swat!"

Zabini threw his hands up in defense, "I apologize, I didn't know you'd bite my bloody head off."

* * *

"So, you're telling me...that you, Hermione Jean Granger have come to see a different side to Draco Malfoy?"

She knew he didn't believe her, and the aggravation was setting in fast.

"It's official, he's put you under some ludicrous spell. Maybe the Imperious?"

Hermione turned her back to him, fully annoyed at this point.

"Awh come on Hermione! Do you know how odd that sounds, you disappear for hours and I finally get to talk to you...and your views have completely changed to that pure-blood git? After all he's put us through? After all he's put you through?"

She didn't turn around, the truth was, it sounded odd even to her. Had her views towards Draco changed? Or had they been tossed to the side for the time being? She rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache start to make its way through the back of her head.

"If you're going to be a prat, I'm not going to bother speaking to you," She grit out through clenched teeth.

She heard the portrait sigh, silence filling the space between them.

"Hermione. Look at me."

It took a second for her to turn and look at him, but she did.

"I'm confused right now, no doubt you are as well. But Hermione, this IS Draco Malfoy we're talking about here. Just remember that...okay?"

She rolled her eyes but nodded her head.

* * *

Blaise was badgering him, poking fun at his current predicament. "Do you think you'll be in there forever?"

Draco glared at him, "Of course not, you stupid moron."

"Touchy, touchy, Granger got your wand in a knot huh?"

He growled at Zabini, "I don't know why you insist on consistinely bringing her up throughout this conversation."

"Well, it's rather humorous old boy, you are stuck with a person that you absolutely loathe."

Draco mulled over those words. Were they true? He could admit that somewhere down the line that Granger was definitely warming up to him. He...admired her. Sighing, he didn't want to mull over this in front of his idiotic friend.

"How is everyone taking my sudden lapse of absence?"

Blaise leaned back, "Well, Snape is in quite the cahoots about where you've gone. He's tried actually, several times to get into the Room of Requirement, but it won't let him in. Odd.." He smirked.

Yes, Draco did suppose that he was probably the only one to show any concern over him. After all, he had made that ridiculous unbreakable vow to his mother. He couldn't really allow anything to happen to the young Malfoy now could he. Draco wasn't sure why he cared if no-one was looking for him. He was sure that most of the Gryffindors were losing their minds over Granger.

It wasn't supposed to bother him, but it did.

Hermione watched as the walls fell away, Harry's words drowning out. He was right, this was still Draco Malfoy, even though he had given her a few kind words, and had saved her life...

It meant everything. She wouldn't allow her friend to poison her mind, and what she was feeling. She was her own person, with her own mind.

A chime hit her ear and she was falling into darkness, Draco's face on the forefront of her mind.

Read and Review.


	16. Arachnophobia

**Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me, evidently.**

* * *

Hermione was lying face first on the ground, she blinked, getting dirt into her eye. Rolling over, she looked to the side of her. Malfoy!

A grunt was the only sound that answered her.

Odd. Did he hurt himself when they landed on the ground? Looking at his hand, she gasped, it was extremely swollen. His tendons looked as if they were screaming against his skin, poking out profusely.

"Draco!" She said, shoving his shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" he hissed at her.

Hermione pulled back as if she'd been bitten. Gulping, she decided to just shove down the hurt that bubbled up with his rude comment.

"Let me see your hand!" She told him, once again grabbing him.

Sitting up, he faced her. He stopped moving, his grey eyes widening. "G-Granger?"

"Yes, I'm tr-."

He interrupted her, grabbing her, shoving her petite form against his chest. She was stunned at his sudden change of attitude. Closing her eyes, she relished in his warmth.

"I apologize, I thought you were someone else when I snapped at you."

Hermione was confused at his statement, but decided to put it off for a different time.

She clutched at his hand, bringing it up to her line of vision. "Malfoy, y-your hand does not look good at all, you really need medical attention, there's only so much I can do."

"Granger." He bit out, rolling his eyes at her, "Do you see Pomfrey anywhere?"

She dropped his injured appendage, making him cry out and throw a little pebble up at her. He mumbled something darkly under his breath. Hermione smirked but looked around, another forest?

Something was very eerie about this place.

It was very quiet.

Hermione saw a stringy material in front of her, she reached out and touched it, it felt somewhat like twine. It was rather sharp as it punctured her skin, leaving a little scratch in its wake. Drawing back, she frowned, sucking on the little wound.

What was that?

Looking to the left, she thought she saw something scurry in between the trees. A chill was creeping up her spine.

"Malfoy. I think it would be wise if we moved now."

Draco pushed himself off the ground, standing beside her.

"Granger." He whispered, grabbing her torn sleeve, "We definitely need to move now."

She raised an eyebrow, taking in his stony features.

He started to walk them forward, his feet steady, making sure not to step on any twigs, or anything that would draw attention to them.

"What is it?" Hermione asked him, annoyed that he hadn't told her what was going on.

"Be as quiet as you can, and for the love of Merlin, if you're afraid of spiders, do not look up."

The chilling feeling turned into a full blown panic attack, Hermione whimpered and shut her eyes.

Arachnids.

The Forbidden Forest.

Oh no.

Draco grabbed her hand, steering her in front of him. Hermione just kept her eyes down, not wanting to look up at the creatures in the trees.

Harry had presumed it was only Ron that was terrified of spiders. Well, how wrong he was. When Ron and Harry had told her that they had gotten thrown into the forest with the Arachnids, she gave a sigh of relief that she hadn't been with them.

But now, she wasn't so lucky.

Draco was steering her through the darkness, his wand drawn, they were walking softly, careful not to tread on anything that would make too much noise.

Suddenly, somewhere in the distance, a wolf howl made them stop moving. Hermione felt a cold chill crawl up her spine.

Werewolf.

Hadn't they already encountered a werewolf?

Well, they were in the forbidden forest, she guessed that meant everything in the forbidden forest would be in this hallucination of 'fear'.

Draco didn't want to show that he was slightly freaked out. He pushed it back slightly, continuing to walk them out of the spiders nest.

Hermione saw a movement to her right, and suddenly a flash of web was being hurled at her. Malfoy saw it as well, and jerked her back just in time.

"Well, so much for getting out of here quietly." Malfoy said before he was yanking her ahead and yelling at her to run.

Hermione pumped her legs as fast as she could, hearing scurrying movements behind them. Fear was clutching her, almost paralyzing her.

Hermione then felt something hit her leg, she screamed and went sprawling.

Malfoy stopped running and looked back to see one of the Arachnids almost pounce on top of Granger. Holding his wand up he yelled a stunning spell, flinging the spider back.

Hermione whimpered, tears flooding her cheeks.

Malfoy reached down and hauled her up. Flinging her forward, they set off into a run again.

Hermione felt her legs burn as she pushed herself to run.

"Malfoy! I c-can't run anymore, my legs are burning!"

The wizard clutched the girls hand and continued to run. He didn't want to admit but he was getting tired as well.

Suddenly ahead of them, a car came out of the sky and plopped itself right in front of the two of them. Hermione was dragging in a breath, when she suddenly remembered what Harry and Ron had told her.

"Malfoy! Get in the car!"

She didn't need to tell him twice.

Hermione noticed one of the spiders from the treeline about to leap and she jumped inside of the vehicle, slamming the door before the arachnid sunk its fangs into her.

Malfoy was in beside her, clutching his hand in his other hand. Pain was evident all over his face and Hermione felt a rush of concern claim her.

"Malfoy, put a healing spell on yourself. I've got to get this car to go somehow."

The wizard nodded dumbly.

Hermione started the ignition, hearing the engine roar to life. She threw up lever into...flying mode? Stepping on the gas pedal, the car took off and they suddenly were flying through the trees.

"Granger! Get us out of the forest!"

Hermione nodded and jerked the wheel up.

When they were in the night sky, Hermione felt a rush of hilarity fall over her. "Oh gosh! Malfoy! That was a bloody rush, when we took off and flew into the air!"

The young man was looking at her as if she were a foreign object.

Hermione giggled again, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Granger. I'm glad that you got a rush, but if you didn't notice, you almost got poisoned, and we almost smashed into a dozen trees, close to being impaled."

Silence.

Granger giggled again, nodding her head.

"I'm starting to see a lot of sides to you Granger. You say you don't like breaking rules, but it gives you a thrill."

She looked over at him, biting her lip. "I never said it didn't Malfoy. I mean, most of the time I'm breaking the rules, I'm doing it for the good of the school, and the wizarding world."

Malfoy groaned, rolling his eyes at her statement. "Granger, I'm starting to tolerate you, please don't get on your high horse like Potter does."

Hermione looked over at him, a big stunned and hurt at his comment.

"Whether you want to admit it or not Malfoy, I have saved the school before, a long with Harry and Ron. Why is that so hard for you to admit? Is it because you're jealous that we get more recognition?"

Silence.

"You don't have any idea what you're talking about Granger. I'm not jealous of you idiots."

Hermione gripped the steering wheel, trying to not blow up on him.

"Do not call me an idiot Malfoy."

"Then don't act like one Granger."

Silence.

Hermione though, could not contain herself.

"Is it my fault that you and your friends are bullies? Is it _my_ fault that you step on everybody's toes and nobody cares for you?"

Silence.

"I'll answer for you Malfoy, no, it's not my fault, or Harry's or Ron's, that is your fault, plain and simple. So you get off your high horse!"

At the end of her rant, she could feel his grey eyes boring into her.

"You honestly think that your popularity is earned Granger? Are you actually delusional enough to think that the Gryffindors aren't held up on a high pedestal, compared to the other houses, especially Slytherin?!"

Silence.

Hermione just kept looking ahead, feeling her aggravation climb higher and higher.

"Are you going to answer my question Granger, or can you finally admit that you're wrong?"

Silence.

"It's not our fault that the Slytherins are..are..asses!" She yelled at him, flinging one of her hands up for emphasis.

"Is that your only argument Granger?"

Suddenly tears rimmed her eyes when she suddenly remembered their scene in second year when Malfoy had first called her Mudblood.

"Oh yeah," she started, clearing her throat, and wiping her face, "What about when you called me a mudblood in second year? In front of everybody? Is that my only argument Malfoy?"

Malfoy was silent.

"That was a long time ago Granger. I was a different person."

Hermione shook her head, almost laughing. "You think you're a different person just because we kiss a few times? You think you're different just because you help me out a few times? Just look down at that thing on your arm to know you're _not_ different!"

Hermione was shaking, her hands sweaty on the steering wheel.

Malfoy was seething in the seat beside her, she could feel it.

"Take this bloody thing down. I would rather be attacked by a creature then stay in this fucking car with you."

The words cut her, she knew she had gone to far and that she was wrong.

"Malfoy, I-I'm sor-."

"I said to stop the damn car!" He interrupted her, making her jump.

Hermione landed, putting the car in park. She sat there as Malfoy flung his door open and slammed it behind him.

Where were they?

Looking around, she saw the Great Lake through one of the trees. Pushing her door open, she looked down at her watch, 11:36. So, if they got in here at 4, then they had a little more than four hours left. Maybe, if the room is doing what she thought it was doing.

24 hours in here together.

She continued to walk through the trees, smelling the water before she even got to it.

She saw a figure standing by the waters edge, his blonde hair blowing with the wind.

She knew she had been wrong, she had gone a little too far in the car. Malfoy had really shown a different side to himself since they had been in this situation, a side that Hermione didn't think she'd ever see.

Before she got to him, she drew in a deep breath, preparing for a battle.

Malfoy was looking out at the water, relishing in the peaceful calm it brought him. He had always wanted to live by a body of water, namely the ocean. He suddenly felt a presence and knew it was Granger. Rolling his eyes, he bent low and grabbed a few rocks.

Hermione watched as he skipped a rock on the water, he was still angry, she could see it in his movements.

Taking a breath, she moved forward to stand beside him.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry again Malfoy."

Silence.

Hermione was starting to lose a little bit of her patience. Folding her arms together, she took in his stony appearance. She wished he'd grow up.

He flung another rock across the water, putting more force than needed behind it.

"Are you going to say anything?" She prodded, seeing him tense up.

Silence.

"Malfoy, you are being completely childish, do you know that?"

That elicited a reaction. He turned to her, and she took a step back, seeing the storm brewing in those grey depths.

"Fuck off Granger."

He returned to flinging rocks into the water.

Hermione rolled her eyes and just looked away, tired of his little temper tantrum.

"You're right. I was stupid to think you would take my apology like a grown-up. I guess my statement in the car isn't entirely untrue is it Malfoy?" At her comment, she turned away from him.

Malfoy felt his temper flare up and unleash, he threw the rest of the rocks into the water in front of him, creating a ripple. He marched forward and grasped her upper arm, turning her around rather ferociously. Hermione gasped and cringed at the painful grip that he had on her.

"Your sorry is shit Granger, especially when you don't mean it. You've hated me since I called you a mud- a muggle born in second year."

Hermione was angry, until she heard him suddenly correct himself and not use the derogatory term that he had used so much in the past.

"You hate me, and I'm not fond of you. And that's the way it is, and will have to stay."

He stepped away from her.

Hermione watched him, his shoulders tense.

"You didn't call me a mudblood." She said to him, matter of factly, her heart thudding against her breastbone.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said to her, not looking into her face.

"Yes you do." Hermione said, crossing her arms. "When you brought up our second year. You said muggle-born instead of mud-blood."

"Would you stop saying that bloody word!"

Silence.

He marched over to her, his face not to far from her own.

"Haven't you noticed that I don't think of you just as some lowly muggle-born anymore Granger? Are you so blind that you don't see that?"

Hermione was stunned into silence.

"I won't claim that I've changed a lot, or maybe even a little when it concerns my thoughts on your friends, or to your house. But, to you, you've wormed your way into me Granger. Don't you see that?"

Silence.

Hermione's heart was beating a thousand miles a minute.

She looked at him, seeing the indecisiveness cloud his irises. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face into his neck.

"I am sorry Draco," she mumbled.

He rubbed her back, and nodded.

Drawing back, she put her hand against his cheek.

He cleared his throat and took a step back from her, looking at the lake.

"So, I take it this was your fear Granger. I'm not fond of spiders, but I don't have a problem with them."

She looked away, slightly embarrassed. "Yes, I'm afraid of spiders, I've had a bad past experience with one."

He raised an eyebrow, beckoning her to continue with her story.

"Well, when I was little, I got bit by a spider. It was poisonous, it made me really sick and put me in the hospital for almost a week."

He was staring at her, taking in her story.

"Well, I guess that's a good reason to dislike them then."

Hermione smiled and chuckled a little, "I think the person that dislikes them more then me however would have to be Ron. He is absolutely petrified of them."

"Yes, well, that's not really that surprising. Weasley is probably the least capable of your group."

Hermione gave him a withering glare, she didn't want to get into another argument with Malfoy.

"Let's not discuss it, it'll only cause another fight."

He shrugged his shoulders and stiffly nodded.

Suddenly, the clock chimed and Draco looked overhead, waiting on oblivion to consume him. Hermione closed her eyes, feeling the thick air fall over her and fling her into the darkness.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I apologize about my absence, I've been moving and trying to get my stuff together for the last few months.

Review and tell me how you like it up to this point.

-Heather


	17. You always hurt the ones?

**DISCLAIMER: NONE OF THIS BELONGS TO ME.**

 **Okay everybody, warning, this chapter is a little violent. If you don't like violence, I would skip this one.**

 **Thanks.**

* * *

Hermione opened her eyes, feeling her side ache ferociously. She sat up, feeling cold ground beneath her palms.

"Malfoy?" She called out, not being able to see through the darkness.

Silence.

"Malfoy!" She called, a little louder.

Silence.

Where was Malfoy at? She squinted her eyes, seeing something in the distance. Moving forward, she put her arms out, trying desperately not to trip on anything.

"Draco! Please, answer me!"

Nothing.

Hermione finally felt what she had seen in the distance.

Bars.

Metal bars.

"What the bloody hell is this?' Hermione mumbled, taking a few steps backward.

Suddenly, a sound drew her head upwards. She watched as a hunched figure emerged from the darkness.

Peter Pettigrew.

Hermione gasped and backed herself into the darkness. She hit a wall, feeling the cold seep through her school uniform.

Where was she?!

"Good evening Mudblood." The dirty man's eyes raked over her form, making her convulse with revulsion. He smiled at her, his black teeth not showing in the blackness of the room.

"W-Where am I?" She asked him, a terrible feeling sinking into the pit of her stomach.

He sneered, holding his wand up, eliciting a bit of light.

"Malfoy Manor." He said to her, an evil smile plastering his features now.

 _What?_

"No! That's impossible!" She yelled at him.

He smiled even bigger now. "Young Malfoy brought you to us."

 _No!_

 _Traitor!_

 _How could he?_

 _Why?_

She whimpered as he opened up her cell door. "Now, you're going to be a good girl. I don't want to have to use any unnecessary force. We'll save that for later."

Hermione almost emptied her stomachs contents onto the floor at that statement. She'd rather die.

Striding forward, he grabbed her wrist, hauling her forward to the stairs he had just descended.

Hermione didn't try to run, she felt the tip of Pettigrew's wand pressed painfully into the base of her spine. He was shoving her up the stairs, through a set of wide doors. Upon opening, she was flung unceremoniously into a group of people.

All death-eaters.

Hemione looked around, trying to find Malfoy.

How could he do this to her?

Everyone around her removed their masks. She recognized almost all of them.

She saw Snape, Lucious Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange cackling, Macnair, Narcissa Malfoy, Fenrir Greyback, and finally her irises landed on Draco. Tears seeped out of her eyes when she saw him, bile rising in her throat.

"W-Why?"

He sneered, his eyes cold, lifeless.

Suddenly, holding his wand up, he mumbled something.

Hermione felt heat caress every bone in her body as the cruciatous ripped through her. She couldn't help it, she opened her mouth and screamed. Her nails were raking her skin, trying to find some relief for the pressure that was bubbling up inside her.

"Stop! Please!"

Everyone around her was laughing. Snape was looking down at her, no expression in his eyes, as if he didn't care at all what happened to her.

Malfoy snapped his wand back, levitating her into the air. Hermine felt her head hang backwards, not having the strength to hold it up. The young man placed her in front of him, his grey eyes staring into her brown one's. He pointed his wand at her shirt, starting at the top button. He did a slicing motion, her shirt ripping open, exposing her chest to them.

" _Look at this_. The mudblood has a rather nice chest." Hermione felt tears roll down her face, but she didn't have the ability to try to fight him.

Malfoy flicked his wand again, and she dropped onto the floor, her back making rough contact with the wood.

Whimpering, she watched as Bellatrix dropped something into Draco's hands. He smiled sinisterly at her, thanking her.

Kneeling down, pressed each knee on both of her arms, making her flinch.

"D-Draco, please…" She mumbled to him, feeling as he climbed on top of her. His knees dug painfully into her skin, causing severe discomfort.

His grey eyes had absolutely no emotion in them. He held something up suddenly, the thing that Bellatrix had given to him. It was a knife.

At the sight of the steel blade, Hermione began to struggle, trying to shove him off of her. Hot tears leaked from her eyes, but all she heard was snickering above her.

"Shut up." He told her gruffly.

There was sudden pain on her chest. Hermione looked down and saw Draco carving an M over her left breastbone. The pain ripped through her, and she yelled.

"Stop it!"

"Crucio!" Came a woman's voice as the curse hit her senses roughly. Hermione screamed even louder, convulsing every which way on the floor. She felt the blade sink deeper into her flesh, feeling the blood as it trickled down her breast.

He was gliding along her chest, the blade doing sharp edges as he drew out a word on her skin. Hermione could only imagine what it said. When the Crucio curse finally subsided, Draco stopped what he was doing. The young witch watched him as he stood up, seeing the blood coat his hands.

Looking around, the room was starting to spin into a dizzying vortex.

"Well done son." A deeper voice broke through.

Hermione felt the blood run into the waist band of her skirt, the trails leaving a sticky feeling.

Draco stood over her again, his face a mask of hatred. He held up, in front of him, a large mirror.

MUDBLOOD.

The word started at one breast and ended at the other. The deepness of the wound was causing blood to pump out of her, drowning her chest in crimson.

Hermione closed her eyes, her breathing labored now.

"Kill her."

Cracking her left eye open, she saw as Malfoy raised his wand, a smile covering his lips.

"Ava-"

Before he could say the full curse, Hermione felt the air around her grow thick, and then she was being sucked back into the black vortex. She closed her eyes, allowing the unconsciousness to fall over her.

* * *

Hermione felt someone's hands on her, their shaky voice trying to wake her up.

"Granger! What the fuck happened! Merlin!"

She knew that voice, rather well. Who was it? It sounded so familiar to her.

There was pressure now, she could feel it on her chest.

"Miss Granger!"

That voice was familiar as well. She smiled, knowing that she was just hallucinating them.

"She's lost a lot of blood." The voice that was almost woman-like cut through, "We need to get her some more blood replenishing potion, or she's not going to make it."

Hermione felt a light fall over her. It suddenly became brighter and brighter. It was so warm, so welcoming, she felt like she was home when it touched her.

"L-Ligh.." She said aloud, making someone in the room gasp.

"Don't Hermione!"

She suddenly felt someone pry her lips open, thrusting a vial into her mouth. The liquid came out at such a fast rate that it made her choke.

"Drink it Miss Granger!" The hand that was holding was shaking immensely.

As the liquid was settling through her, she saw the light start to diminish around her. It saddened her, it was so warm, it felt so much like home.

"Severus, we'll need more." The sentence itself sounded as if she were in a tunnel and it was being shouted at her.

But, she did catch the first name.

At that, she started to struggle, whimpering.

"N-No..deat—eat." She was gasping, flinging her head about.

"Miss Granger! Hold still, I don't want to have to bind you!"

She didn't though, she felt the tears slide down her face, puddling with the blood on her chest. She suddenly felt another vial press at her lips, forcing them open. There was a foul tasting liquid in it, and she choked harshly.

"Drink it!" A man's voice.

She could feel a gentle hand pressing down on her forehead, another holding her chin. Whimpering, she stopped flailing, allowing the foul liquid down her throat. She coughed roughly when it was pulled away, but felt a euphoric like state start to slip over her person.

Then the darkness took her.

* * *

Draco was pacing outside the infirmary, his hands recently washed from all the blood.

What the hell had happened?

When they had disappeared from the lake, he had been dropped back into the room of requirement. Upon sitting up, he noticed that Granger was not with him. He looked for her, not finding her he then started to panic.

It seemed like forever, but he suddenly heard a clock chime. He felt a prickly sensation as the darkness around him seemed to consume him. Then, there was Granger.

The state he found her in made him physically sick when he saw her.

Her school shirt had been ripped open, blood staining the front fully. Etched across her chest was the word _MUDBLOOD_ in large letters. The blood was pumping out quickly. His shaky fingers felt around for her pulse, and he finally found it.

He pointed his wand at her, levitating her in the air.

He ran to the front of the room, where the door would be. It was not there.

Shouting, he pleaded with the room. "She'll die! Please!"

His sobs echoed off the walls, but a second later, a door appeared in front of him. He wasted no time in flinging it open, and sprinting out.

Upon entering the infirmary, Madame Pomfrey was tending to a student that had skinned up their knee. She looked up at him, and saw that he was levitating a student that was dripping blood.

"Merlin. M-Malfoy put her on the bed here."

He did as she asked, placing Granger down as gently as he could.

"Dear God, what happened to her?!"

He was shaking, looking at her with wide eyes, "It's a very long story Madame Pomfrey." The medi-witch just stared at him.

"P-Please. Is she going to die?" He asked her, wiping his cheek, smearing blood onto his skin.

Madame Pomfrey looked at him, watching his intense shaking.

"Malfoy. Did you have anything to do with this?"

Silence.

"W-Why would you ask me that?" He asked her, his grey eyes turning black with panic.

Suddenly, the doors flew open and in ran Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore.

They ran past him, peering down at the student that lay ripped open on the bed. "Poppy, what do you need?' Dumbledore asked in a rushed tone.

"Blood replenishing Potion. Dittany. Sleeping Draught. Pain reduction. I need all of those right _now_."

Professor Snape strolled to her cabinet, flinging it open. His narrow fingers rifled through her storage of Potions, gathering up the one's she'd need.

Draco stood back, sitting on the ground, watching as they worked on her. He was so shaken he couldn't get his mind to think straight. What had happened to her? Who had carved that into her chest?

He didn't see Professor Dumbledore walk over to him, or begin to talk to him, until a hand was waved in front of his face. His grey eyes looked up, finding the dull blue of his Professor's.

"Mr. Malfoy. Can you tell me what you last remember?" His voice came out, gently.

The younger wizard just shook his head. "I remember that we were last out of the forbidden forest, by the Great Lake, and then the time took us away. And when I came to on the floor of the Room of Requirement, she wasn't there beside me as she always is."

Dumbledore nodded his head.

"T-Then, after the time was up, I felt the ripple then she was suddenly there."

The headmaster nodded, kneeling to put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you had nothing to do with this. I told that to Poppy as well. I told Professor Snape what all was happening in the Room of Requirement."

Malfoy just stared at him.

"You should try to go to your Common Room."

He shook his head. "I can't leave. I have to know if she's going to live, and who did this to her."

* * *

Draco was sitting on one of the beds, his head in his hands. It had been hours since he had brought her there. She had yet to wake up.

Pomfrey had gotten her to stabilize, most of her blood had been replenished through the potions, and some of her bruises were fading. The scar across her chest though, that would never go away.

Hermione was drawing back into consciousness, she felt the cool air around her, the smells of medical supplies filling her nostrils. She groaned lightly, feeling every bone in her body ache terribly. She cracked one of her eyes open, the light from the room she was in, blinding her.

Draco was looking at the floor when he heard a little groan from Granger's bed.

The younger witch opened her other eye, taking in her whereabouts. She was in the infirmary at Hogwarts.

Draco blindly walked over to her bed, careful not to startle her.

Hermione felt a presence beside her and she turned her head.

Her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened.

Draco Malfoy..

Draco moved his hand closer to hers, but she yanked it away.

"G-Get away from me!"

He backed up, startled at the terror in her eyes.

"Out!" She took a deep breath, "Get out!"

She was screaming at this point. Her hand went to her chest, freaking out when she found the mark there was actually real.

 ** _"GET OUT!"_**

Madame Pomfrey rushed into the room, along with Snape and Dumbledore.

Hermione's eyes widened at the dark figure that bounded in after her Headmaster.

"Get out! _Both_ of you, get out!"

Pomfrey didn't know what to do, she was looking at Dumbledore, fright on her own features.

"I don't know what is going on! Mr. Malfoy what did you do to her?"

Hermione was staring at both he and Professor Snape with wide, fear filled eyes.

"Tell them to get out!" She screamed, starting to fight Madame Pomfreys hands from her person.

Dumbledore turned his head to the two men beside the bed. "Severus. Draco. I think you should leave. Just until we find out what happened."

Hermione was sobbing, her hand on her chest.

"T-The..d-did this to m.."

Draco heard her as she said that sentence, knowing all of a sudden exactly what had happened while she was gone..

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Review.

-H


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